The Devil went Down to Hogsmeade
by Gambit Gurl Isis
Summary: A humorous little story inspired by the song 'The Devil went Down to Georgia.' How Draco Malfoy managed to get Ginny Weasley to go with him to a school ball. All is fair in Love and Dare.
1. The Devil went Down to Hogsmeade

The Devil went Down to Hogsmeade

The Devil went down to Hogsmeade. He was looking for a date to steal. He was in a bind, and was out of time so he was quick to make a deal. When he came across the young girl tossing up a Quaffle and looking real hot. So he jumped up on the store's front porch and said, "Girl let me tell you what."

"I suppose you already know it, but I'm a Quidditch player too," Malfoy commented haughtily, "And if you'd care to take a dare I'll make a bet with you.

"Now you have fair dexterity, Sweet, but give this Malfoy his due." Draco smirked and waited for the girl to turn around. "I'll bet a Quaffle of gold against your whole 'cause dating me 's a dream come true."  

That red haired girl turned right around and looked him in the eye. After one short laugh, on her behalf, came her confident reply. 

"Well Malfoy—My name's Ginny and it might be a sin." She tossed the Quaffle up. "But I'll take your bet, and your gonna' regret, 'cause I'm the best that's ever been." She said simply and Malfoy glared.

Ginny you remember what you know, and play—it won't be hard—'Cause Hell's broke loose in Hogsmeade and the Malfoy deals the cards. If you win you'll humiliate him and then there's that Quaffle of gold, but if you lose to the ball you'll go when Draco gets you whole.

Draco snapped his fingers and he said, "I'll start this show." And a wand flew to his fingertips as he shouted **'accio.'** He jumped down to the sidewalk and his wand made an evil hiss. Then he swiped past. He snatched at Ginny's Quaffle only to have her pull it back, from his attack, and blow a sardonic kiss.

When Draco did this Ginny said, "Well you're pretty good, old son. But slick your hair and stand right there so I can show you how it's done!" Ginny said wryly and flipped her hair into the air before whipping out her wand. 

Fire flew from the wand, run boy run! The Devil ducked past the Shrieking Shack bathed in the rising sun. Cast a hex but he was too slow. Ginny won't let up, no child no. Finally Draco bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat and he conceded that short duel due to Ginny's feat. 

Ginny smirked and said, "Draco, just come on back if you ever want to try again. But I told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been." 

She laughed once more and held the Quaffle up high, though she barely noticed as he cast a charm and the ball rose up to fly. Ginny let out a great loud yell and swore to throw the cheating Malfoy down a deep, dark well. He plucked the Quaffle down out 'the air and warned the young Weasley that she be prepared.

With a smile he tossed it back and ran a hand right through his hair. 

"Remember Weasley, all's fair in Love and Dare and I'd avoid them both if I were you."

He walked away, no plan to stay and left little Ginny there to stew.

She was mad and her wand she had so she turned his hair bright blue.

**Author's Notes:** Well, any one enjoy that? Short bit that it was. Feel free to review—Unlike other authors I encourage that sort of _wild and crazy_ behavior. (Scoffing is heard from behind the Author.) Right. I was considering writing the story that comes after that—but I don't know…I think it works like this. Perhaps a little *cough**bribery**cough* …err a few reviews could change my mind?

And now I have to add this…feel free to ignore the below.

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own either of the pieces used in creating this. If you don't know what they are go download 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' and read Harry Potter.**


	2. And The Story Begins

And The Story Begins

"Oooh, I'll get him—Mark my words!" Ginny growled and shouted as she paced through the Gryffindor common room.

                "What's up Gin?" Ron asked looking a bit surprised as he, Hermione, and Harry filed through the portrait hole.

                "That bloody git tricked me!" Ginny shouted and then took on a rather scary tone of voice that made Ron visibly stiffen. "Oh, he won't be able to humiliate me."

                "Who tricked you?" Harry had never seen Ginny, or any other girl, like this.

                "It was Draco Malfoy."

                The trio turned and saw a slightly shaken Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan watching Ginny. Dean was filling out—what looked like—a sheet for taking bets on what Ginny was going to do and Seamus was the one who'd spoken to them.

                "You all want to have a go?" Seamus smiled and motioned to the sheet Dean had just finished.

                "A go?" Harry asked and Dean smiled at him.

                "Yeah, just place your bet on what day and scribble down what you think she'll do to him—don't forget your name," Dean said happily and handed Harry the paper and his quill.

                "Bloody Malfoy, I'll get him though!" Ginny growled and snapped Ron out of his nostalgic sort of coma.

                "What? Malfoy!" Ron asked loudly but no one needed to restrain him. Even in his angry state he wasn't stupid enough to approach Ginny while she was this mad.

                "Yeah, she was ranting about what he did earlier," Seamus said and shrugged. "Turns out he made a bet with her, cheated, and now she has to go with him to the ball."

                "I don't think he knew who she was when he made the bet though," Dean added and Seamus nodded.

                "Of course he didn't," commented Lee Jordan (ironically). He was seated across the room by the fire and he apparently wanted to make a bet on what she'd do. "He just saw something pretty on two legs and turned on the charm. After all, better a date with the enemy than a date with Parkinson.," He said simply and Harry handed him the paper and the quill.

                "True, that." Seamus agreed. Both he and Dean shuddered at the thought of having to take Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball.

                "Why what's going on down here?" Fred asked as he and George came down the stairs.

                "Oh no," George said shakily and dove behind Fred. "We swear it wasn't us!"

                "Yeah! What Feorge said!" Fred exclaimed and tried to back away from Ginny. They recognized that look in her eyes and they'd been unfortunate to be on the receiving end once.

                Ginny just ignored them and continued to plot.

                "Don't worry you two," Lee Jordan called to them and gave them a thumbs up as he signed his name on the betting sheet.

                "Yeah, she's mad at Ferret boy," Dean Thomas added with a smirk and saw both Fred and George share worried looks.

                "You're not actually concerned about him, are you?" Seamus asked and looked more than just a tad surprised at their reactions.

                "Of course we are!" Fred and George shouted at the same time. 

                "We'd better alert Pomfrey," Fred said and George nodded.

                "And brew up a few anti-venoms and antidotes—some mandrake draft wouldn't hurt either," George added shakily and everyone watched them.

                "So you two don't want to make a bet on what she does to Malfoy?" Lee frowned and held up the paper.

                "Bet, you say?" They both asked in unison and seemed to forget their previous conversation.

                "Why of course." Fred stood up and carefully crossed the room.

                "Never pass up a good chance to increase our funds," George said merrily and made sure not to get too close to Ginny as he crossed the room.

                "What's this then?" Fred read over the previous bets and shared a look with George. "_Pour punch on him_?"

                "_Drop him off a broom and into the lake_?" George read Dean's bet and cocked an eyebrow.

                "_Curse his robes tye-dyed_?" Fred asked and sent Lee a look. "Et too, Jordan, **et too**?"

                "Just what did he do, cause her to stub her toe?" George sent a look all around and everyone that wasn't a Weasley or a girl looked a little confused. "These aren't revenge—they're pranks."

                "Not very good pranks at that," Fred rolled his eyes and looked over at Seamus. "Tell us, what in the world did Ferret boy do to Gin to earn him the punishment of _'pour punch on him'_?"

                "He made a bet with her, cheated, and now she has to go with him to the Yule Ball," Seamus answered and wondered just what was wrong with his bet. 

                Both Fred and George shared wide-eyed, stunned expressions. They looked at each other and then started up their conversation from the stairs.

                "Alert the ministry!" Fred shouted.

                "Get the Aurors in here!" George called.

                "Do you think Malfoy's taken Advanced D-A-D-A?" Fred asked and George shrugged.

                "Has he been trained to survive out at sea? He can't apparate!" George shook Fred and they both paused.

                "Wait a moment Feorge," Fred started and George let go of Fred's robes.

                "Indeed, Gred." George and Fred both frowned.

                "Did Finnigan just tell us that Draco Malfoy is taking **our** little Ginny to the Yule Ball?" Fred asked and George nodded.

                "Why yes, I believe he did just tell us that smarmy git is taking our sister to Yule Ball." George folded his arms over his chest. "As a date, I'd wager."

                "Why something must be done about this, right Feorge?" Fred set the betting sheet and quill down quickly.

                "I concur Gred," George agreed and the two of them went up to their rooms to retrieve their most prized Quidditch gear. They had the sudden urge to go _show_ Malfoy their bats. As they ran up the stairs they nearly knocked over poor Colin Creevey who was walking down them. Colin stumbled and nearly fell into the common room.

                "Oh h-hi Harry," Colin waved and then his face turned to utter shock as he saw the livid Ginny. "Ginny!" He shouted and got to his feet. "Ginny," He started in a sing-song voice and Ginny eyed him, "You have to calm down." He added and glanced at all the people in the room.

                "What?" Ginny asked and scoffed. She paused for a moment, though, and looked around. "Oh."

                "Bett-ter?" Colin stammered and Ginny laughed nervously before flushing and giving everyone an embarrassed smile.

                "Sorry about that…" Ginny laughed again and everyone nodded. Fred and George came clambering back down the stairs not a moment later—carrying bags of ticks and their beater's bats. Ginny smiled at them and they froze before promptly running back up the stairs as if their bums were on fire. Ginny watched them and was quickly led out of the common room by Colin. 

                "What is going on?" Harry looked around and everyone just shrugged. "What are you doing Ron?" Harry watched his friend pick up the betting sheet and start filling in a square.

                "I'm wagering about Malfoy's demise," Ron answered and everyone shared a look.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "Sit down, that clicking your shoes make is distracting," Blaise Zambini said quietly and read through one of her textbooks so she could finish her assignment.

                "You're welcome." Draco sneered and sat down on the black sofa that filled part of the empty space that made up the Slytherin common room.

                "I've found it." Tracey Davis—a quiet, shadowy sort of girl who was in the same year as Draco lazily lifted her hand into the air and announced her discovery with no trace of excitement in her voice.

                "Well?" Draco demanded after a long silence and Tracey let out a heavy sigh as she stood from her seat and brought the book over to Draco.

                "There," Tracey dropped the book on Draco's lap and pulled out her long black wand. She flicked it in the air once with a swish and spoke the magic words. 

**"Refugere!"**

Tracey hit Draco over the head with her wand sharply as she cast the spell. He scowled at her but the bright electric blue in his hair melted away and he was once again a platinum blonde. Draco snapped the book shut and Tracey slipped her want back into the hidden pocket in her sleeve before walking back to her chair and sitting down.

There was a long silence, which was not uncommon in the vacant Slytherin common room. Currently there were only five occupants, two of which hadn't the capacity to enjoy in conversation anyways. 

"Not that I don't enjoy watching someone in anguish but you might as well get it over with and simply tell us," Terence Higgs, a boy who was currently trying to invent a potion that would eat through solid stone and not give off any odor or smoke, spoke up. 

"I think not Higgs," Draco said and sneered.

"Come now Draco," Blaise finished reading the last page she required and closed her book. "It's always better to combine maniacal plans, not that you need our help what with your savants." Blaise motioned to Crabbe and Goyle with the end of her quill.

"Indeed," Tracy added to the conversation and looked over at Draco. "What bit of particularly agonizing misfortune has you plotting thusly?"

"I must ask you Davis," Draco started and eyed Tracy, "have you always been quite this odd?"

"Why no, dear Draco," Tracey smiled and everyone in the room realized that it definitely wasn't a natural expression on this girl. "It took years of practice."

"I should have known," Draco laughed once hollowly and leaned back against the leather couch.

"Well Malfoy, get on with it," Blaise commanded flatly and started writing something. Draco ignored her and Terence smiled slyly.

"I'll wager I know what bothers our ikkle Draco." Terence stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. "Could this be related to your date for the Yule Ball?"

"Ah yes." Tracey looked over at Draco and stood up. "Do tell me that you've found someone less irritating than that abhor-able, antagonizing, little screechy Pansy." Tracey shuddered and her face took on a look of sheer disgust.

"I have, though I'm not sure she's more acceptable," Draco answered flatly. Insulting Pansy Parkinson always made him feel just a bit better—no matter the situation.

"Good for you, how much does she cost?" Blasie asked nonchalantly and didn't bother to look up from her work.

"My dignity," Draco answered darkly and Terence shrugged.

"Well tis better to lose a little dignity to one girl than lose your lunch, hearing, and sanity to another," He commented and Tracey nodded just a bit.

"If you didn't bribe her, Draco, who is she and just how did you get her at this late hour?" Blaise finally found the conversation entertaining enough to take her attention from her work so she looked up at him and turned in her chair. 

"I made a bet," Draco said and smirked.

"You must have been a true Slytherin," Tracey commented and everyone in the room looked at her for a moment, "You must have cheated considerably. She was mad enough to hex you."

"Hold fast now," Blaise held up her hand and a smile crept across her features—a very Slytherin smile. "This girl has a quick temper and will surely cost you some of your dignity?" She held back a laugh. 

Blaise always was too smart for her own good.

"Ah Miss Zambini has it worked out." Terence walked over to the table Blaise was working at and leaned on the edge.

"Do enlighten us, dear Blaise." Tracey waved her hand in the air and waited to hear Blaise's discovery.

"Really Draco?" Blaise locked eyes with the blonde and he sneered. "Little Ginny Weasley?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Draco replied flatly and cursed his procrastinating nature.

"Is that all?" Tracey asked sounding slightly put off that the situation wasn't worse. "I was expecting something akin to 'McGonagall' but you give us Ginny Weasley?"

"Now, now, Miss Davis." Terence held up his right hand and rolled his eyes. "Let's not insinuate things that are more disturbing than Pansy Parkinson."

"Poor you," Blaise commented and stared at Draco. "But it is your own fault—nearly everyone has a date already."

"Really?" Draco smirked and Blaise shook her head.

"Sorry, I'm going with a Ravenclaw." She smirked and motioned to Tracey. 

"I have the joy of attending with a squeamish little Hufflepuff." Tracey stood up and Draco looked back at Blaise.

"Even Millicent has a date." She said flatly.

"Bullstrode has a date?" Terence looked aghast.

"Indeed, some big mug of a Hufflepuff." Blaise answered.

"Who doesn't have a date then?" Draco asked impatiently and Blaise looked back at him.

"I wouldn't risk pissing off Weasley, Draco. It's a well known fact that women can attend balls and parties alone without anyone even glancing twice but should a figure such as yourself show up without escort you'll be the talk of the school," Terence warned Draco.

"Not to mention that the only ones in the student population without dates are Megan Jones—a Hufflepuff, Melissa Marquis—a Ravenclaw, and Stewart Ackerley—another Ravenclaw." Blaise added and Draco fell back against the couch with an expression that combined defeat with disgust and dejection.

"Remember, dear Draco," Tracey walked over silently and leaned uncomfortably close to Draco—uncomfortably close being something around two feet when Tracey Davis is involved. "Things could always be far, far worse." 

She swooped off and faded into the ever-present shadows. The other two went back to their work and Draco just groaned and walked out up to his room where he could continue his pacing and plotting in peace.   

**Author's Notes:** Now see how well reviewing works? Bribe me and I write more! This is the story that happens after the little Hogsmeade bit that I'm sure most of you found entertaining. I might write one or two future chapters in adapted song form but this is going to be a regular story for the most part. 

Now I know what you're saying—Define _Regular_, and I insist that whatever definition you find won't really apply. But you all get the idea.

Feel free to ignore the below.

**Disclaimer: Am I Rowling? Gee dang, I'm not.**


	3. Revenge is Sweet

                Revenge is Sweet

"You've got to watch out Ginny," Colin said flatly, his voice taking on a steady and wary tone that was quite unusual. "You'll go an ruin what you've got going if you keep on yelling and ranting like that." 

                "I know. I'll try harder later Colin." Ginny walked down the hall with Colin. The two were smart enough to speak normally—if anyone at Hogwarts tried to hide something by whispering everyone would immediately try to listen in. "It's just he made me so mad…."

                "I figured," Colin shook his head and the two stopped walking as they passed a suit of armor that was down the hall from the stairs that led to the first floor. "But if you've got to plot against him at least try to be discreet, please?"

                "Colin Creevey, when have I ever failed to be discreet in the ways of revenge?" Ginny folded her arms over her chest and frowned. "Did you hear about the revenge I exacted on Morag MacDougal?"

                "No," Colin said sounding a bit surprised and shook his head.

                "Exactly," Ginny said flatly and smirked.

                "Oh! Five o'clock—cover!" Colin whispered harshly.

Lisa Turpin, a Ravenclaw fourth year, walked by talking to Owen Cauldwell, a Hufflepuff second year. They eyed the two Gryffindors, but went back to politely ignoring them as Colin stuttered, lost his balance, and Ginny was forced to catch him before he fell into a suit of armor. They hurried past and, once they were out of sight, the two Gryffindors regained their composure. 

"You see what happens when you don't pay attention?" Colin asked and tapped his shoe on the floor.

"Right, right. You sound like Cho," Ginny remarked and rolled her eyes. "It's all about keeping up the face…three things—Ploy, face, reaction." Ginny said and moved her hand as if to mock Cho lecturing.

"Now don't you go knocking Cho," Colin sighed. "They offered you the job of Society President but you went a denied it."

"Sorry if I thought being the leader of a secret society of liars, tricksters, and con-artists might distract me from my studies." 

"You make it sound so _cloak-and-dagger_ Ginny." Colin stared at her for a moment and shrugged. "Right, well just watch your face."

"Had anyone other than you said that to me Colin, I think I would have reacted quite extremely…."

 Ginny contemplated the strange reaction and waved at Colin as he walked off. Ginny watched him go, took a deep breath, and walked off towards the library. 

It was definitely time to look up some of the more interesting and obscure hexes.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Meanwhile—halfway across campus, down a three flights of stairs, behind a fancy painting, through an empty common room filled with slackers copying homework at a rushed pace, up another flight of stairs, and past a door that led into a dorm room—paced Draco Malfoy who was being driven out of his gourd (No, Draco does not live in a fruit—and yes I'm sure you knew that the Slytherin common room was _not_ constructed solely out of an African fruit…right?) by the paradox dilemma he was facing. He'd procrastinated, as seems to be the Slytherin way (One of their mottos it seems, up next to _'Maim. Kill. Destroy.'_ And the ever popular _'Stabbity. Stabbity.'_), and had been forced to go sweep some girl off her feet using the Malfoy charm. Unfortunately in his rush he'd managed to sweep Ginny Weasley off her feet, and then she'd hexed him.

On the one hand he could take Ginny to the Yule Ball and only risk reasonable loss of dignity if he was simply seen with something in a dress. Best-case scenario, she shuts up, stays away from him after they walk through the doors, and never mentions it again. Worst-case scenario, she clings, argues, shouts, and they start a duel mid-dance which tips everyone off to the fact that he is at the ball with a Weasley.

On the other hand he could just skip the festivities all together and be done with it. He'd risk reasonable loss of dignity when people assumed he'd not managed to have a date, but he could live with that. Best-case scenario, he stays in the common room, Weasley goes to the dance hating him even more, and the night is done. Worst-case scenario, he stays in the common room, Weasley goes to the dance and makes a scene, everyone knows he stood her up—therefore it wouldn't take most of them long to assume he'd _asked_ her, and he suffers a massive loss of dignity.

Crap.

"Damn crazy old bat Dumbledore! Why did he have to hold another one! That was a part of the Triwizard Tournament!" Draco threw his arms up and lost it. However, he did have a good point, the Yule Ball was only held during the Holidays when the majority of students remained for the tournament. Normally there weren't even enough students to have a ball making the whole thing quite absurd—(*The ominous sound of a gun's hammer clicking fills the still room and suddenly the narrator falls silent before starting up again in a slightly frightened voice.*)—Errr…The student body had been so excited that they'd asked and pleaded with Dumbledore since Halloween and he was kind enough to hold another ball a week before the holidays…(*Narrator lets out a sigh of relief as the barrel of the gun is moved to the point that it is no longer scraping their forehead, and continues reading*)

Never mess with the plotline of romance writers, especially when it concerns a ball. 

Draco paced back and forth in his room chastising and scolding himself both mentally and aloud for quite some while. He was just approaching the fifteen-minute mark of his insane rant when he abruptly fell silent mid sentence and left half of his last word hanging in the air. This was figuratively speaking of course. No Malfoy on the face of the Earth would be caught talking in text bubbles.

"Detention…" Draco said in hushed voice and smirked. 

He'd have a hard time getting her a detention on the night of the ball, but if it could be done he'd try. 

"If she is under lock and key, she can't show up at the ball," Draco started listing the proposed series of events aloud. "If she's not at the ball I can get all indignant and preserve every bit of my own dignity while she loses some of hers! Excellent!" He exclaimed with a malevolent undertone that was not uncommon in these sorts of plots.

Draco resisted the urge to laugh maniacally and simply contented himself with a simple malignant smirk as he carefully planned out the details of his plan.

                _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                Strangely enough, even though they were plotting against one another, Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley were thinking of the very same phrase at that exact moment.

                _Revenge is sweet._

**Author's Notes:**

I would like to graciously thank all you radicals who choose to doff the conformist system and review! This chapter is a bit short, but future chapters will be longer. I just suddenly felt the urge to give you an update. I hope you all enjoyed.

Remember the Fanfic-writer's creed—More bribes (a.k.a. reviews)=More chapters.

Doff the below as well.

**Disclaimer: I am not J.K.Rowling.**


	4. Duel in the Hall

                Duel in the Hall     

"Now just wave your wand like this…."

                "Like this?" Ginny asked in her small shy voice and flicked her wand outwards in a snapping motion.

                "Yeah, you've got it." Anthony Goldstien, a Hufflepuff sixth year who was currently helping her learn how to case a particular curse (and had already aided her in the learning of a few others), smiled at her as she mastered the motion. "Now let's hear your pronunciation."

                "Vomica!" Ginny spoke the spell words but didn't couple them with the required wand flick.

                "Hmm…Try accentuating the 'I' a bit more."

                "_Vom-eye-kah!_" Ginny tried again and Anthony grinned at her.

                "You've got it!" He beamed at her and patted her on the back. "Why did you want to know these anyway?" He asked innocently enough and Ginny just smiled sheepishly.

                "No reason…." 

                "Oh **I** get it." Anthony shot her a look of halfhearted suspicion. "You want extra credit, don't you?" 

Ginny blinked, wondered if he had heard about her problem with Malfoy, and looked down. Anthony just laughed, patted her on the back again, and walked out of the library. Once he was gone the library fell back into its half silence and Ginny smirked.

"Now that Ferret's really going to get it…." Ginny snickered in an evil way that would have probably earned nines and tens if judged by a panel of death eaters, and tucked away her wand. Ginny snatched up her bag and walked out of the library. She headed off towards the lake; after all she did need to practice these new spells. 

"Fred?" George, who was standing just behind a bookcase that was next to the table Ginny was at, asked shakily.

"I know George…" Fred, whose eyes were wide as saucers shook his head, we really ought to go warn the poor Malfoy git." 

The two sat/stood there for quite a while and contemplated just what in the world Ginny was going to use those three particular spells for. She'd managed to get an Advanced Defense Against The Dark Arts student to aid her in mastering them, meaning she intended to use them and intended them to be right on mark. This was very bad—especially if you happened to be male, platinum blonde, and smarmy beyond all belief.

While the two Weasley twins were contemplating just how in the world they were going to save Malfoy from this fate beyond all dark fates the situation became worse. Ginny, while nearly skipping off to the lake to test her new spells on something, turned a corner and not only ran into someone but was also shoved down only to find one of her ink bottles had broken open.

"Oh no! My white ink!" Ginny stared at her tan bag that now had a large white spot dripping through it. "I just bought that! It was the last bottle!" She complained and glanced up. She could hardly contain her laughter at what she saw. Draco Malfoy had run into her, and the white ink had splashed all over the front of his black robes. He resembled a cow, save the colors should have been reversed.

"Weasley!" He snarled and Ginny simply lost it. 

"S-Serves you right!" Ginny dropped her innocent act again and broke out into a fit of laughter. She was lucky she'd been knocked down on her bum because she wouldn't have been able to stand while laughing _that_ hard.

"Why you _impudent scrawny little redheaded stick_!" Malfoy was angrier than he usually got, after all it wasn't every day that one of his enemies siblings ran into him and then started laughing at him openly. Ginny Weasley stopped laughing with that string of insults and quickly got to her feet.

"What did you just call me?" Ginny asked and Malfoy sneered at her.

"**Impudent. Scrawny. Little. Redheaded stick.**" Draco repeated, incredibly slowly in an attempt to stress the fact that he was patronizing her. "However, seeing as I don't have a monkey here to translate I'll have to put it into a term you understand. **Weasel Girl.**" He narrowed his eyes at her and she glared up at him.

"Big words from an _obnoxious albino ferret_ who's _pure blood_ families are nearly _too inbred_ to count among the human genus anymore." Ginny hissed and Malfoy took on a genuinely angry look. Luckily there were no students around, because both of them drew their wands and took on dueling stances. 

"You asked for it Weasel." Malfoy hissed.

"What are you going to do Malfoy?" Ginny snapped back and pressed her lips into a line. "Use your **amazing** lack of talent as a seeker to bore me to death?"

**"Petrificus Totalus!"** Malfoy shouted and practically threw the spell at Ginny.

**"Mican Tectorum!"** Ginny tested her new spell and it worked wonderfully. The charm formed a sort of glittery blue barrier. Malfoy's spell bounced back off it and struck Goyle who was standing right behind him. Goyle fell over with a loud thud and Malfoy fumed.

**"Relashio!"** Malfoy swished his wand and a stream of flaming sparks shot out from the tip. They struck Ginny's shield and it broke rather quickly. She cursed her inexperience as Malfoy's spell plowed through hers and threw up her arms to try and keep her hair from being singed off.

**"Vomica!"** Ginny flicked her wand at Draco and a black cloud that resembled a swarm of flies burst out of the end and massed around him.

**"FINITE INCANTATUM!"**

The fire burning around Ginny ceased abruptly and every one of the magical insects swarming around Draco disappeared with a small series of crackling noises. Both the charred Ginny and the slightly green Malfoy snapped their attention to their immediate right only to see a pair of very, very irritated teachers. McGonagall and Snape stood side-by-side eying the two students angrily. The two dueling students froze and stared at the teachers. 

"Mr. Malfoy!" McGonagall snapped and Snape cut in.

"Miss Weasley!" He snarled and put his wand back in his robes.

"…Professors…" Ginny said in a very small voice and fell back into her ploy. Malfoy just sighed heavily, shook his head, and put his wand back into his robes.

The two followed the Professors into McGonagall's classroom (mainly because it was closer than either of their offices and the Headmaster was out), and stood silently as they were scolded. Finally the teachers demanded an explanation and the whole room fell silent. The two explained the reason they started the fight in the hall and both of them conveniently left out the main root of the whole ordeal—the fact that they were going to the Yule Ball together.

"One moment," McGonagall stopped either of them from saying anything else and set her head in her right hand. She let out an exasperated sigh and, for the first time in history, she shared a look with Snape that acknowledged they both believed the same thing was called for. "You're both telling me that you started dueling—."

"With the intent of knocking the other out, at the very least." Snape interjected and McGonagall nodded. 

"Over the fact that you both knocked into the other and Miss. Weasley's ink spilled." McGonagall stared at them. They glared at each other and then nodded at the Professors. Snape crossed his arms over his chest and McGonagall let out a disapproving, voiceless, groan.

"This means detention for both of you." Snape said coldly and the two students simply continued to glare at one another.

**Author's Notes:** Wow! This is more reviews to a chapter than I've ever gotten. Grand loads of Gratitude to all you reviewing hooligans! Keep up that rebellious behavior! 

(P.S.: Special thanks [Emeryss] for alerting me to the 'Zabini'/'Zambini' error. Dratted spell checker has Zambini for some reason.)

As usual, feel free to ignore anything below this line.

**Disclaimer: Am I a lawyer, no. But I still know that I don't own Harry Potter.**


	5. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

                Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better            

"I hate you." Ginny sloshed her brush into the bucket of murky water and greenish bubbles.

                "No more than I hate you." Draco seethed and continued to scrub out the old, crusted, browning floor of the classroom Dumbledore hoped to re-open. 

                The two served out their detention under the supposedly watchful eyes of Madam Sprout. She, in a display of hawk-like intensity, was _resting her eyes_ and snoring quite loudly in conjunction. Both Draco and Ginny wanted to take advantage of the situation and ditch out on the rest of the detention but they knew the other would rat them out. Instead they both labored away, on their hands and knees, scrubbing the dingy, squalid floor. At first they'd been absolutely full of insults but now they were both running on proverbial fumes.

                "Oh I give up!" Ginny whispered harshly and threw her brush down. "This floor is all grime! There's no stone left!" Ginny growled and Draco sneered at her.

                "What's the matter? Ickle Weasley's hands hurt?" Draco sat back and mocked Ginny. "Do you have a booboo?" 

                "As a matter of fact, yes." Ginny replied dryly and rubbed the blister that had formed on her right hand.

                "Face it, you just don't have the skill needed. Not even when it comes to petty house cleaning." Draco smirked and Ginny narrowed her eyes at him.

                "Bring it on Malfoy!" Ginny growled and they both stood up.

The two of them narrowed their eyes on one another and would have drawn their wands had they not been confiscated. Ginny took a step back, kicked her brush off to the side, and eyed Malfoy.

"Anything you can do I can do better," Ginny said cockily and put her hands on her hips. "I can do anything better than you!" 

Malfoy scoffed.

"No you can't," Draco stared down at her with a mask of unmarred superiority.

"Yes I can." Ginny leaned forward and interrupted him.

"No you can't." Draco said flatly and began to get irritated.

"Yes I can," Ginny stated in a sing-song voice, "Yes I can!"

Draco glared at the overly arrogant Ginny and stepped back. He kicked his brush up off the floor with the toe of his shoe and snatched it out of mid air. Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him and feigned a yawn before he spoke up. 

"Anything you can be, I can be greater." Draco folded his arms across his chest and smirked down at Ginny. "Sooner and later I'm greater than you." 

Ginny glared.

"No you're not." Ginny snapped and Draco pressed his lips into a line.

"Yes I am," He corrected and she glared.

"No you're not." Ginny pouted and Malfoy leaned over.

"Yes I am." He locked eyes with her.

Ginny turned away with a small** hmph** and shot a glare back at Draco.

"I can mix a potion with Shrivelfig and Billywig." Draco added and Ginny scoffed.

"I can make solutions with twelve different uses!" Ginny laughed and Draco rolled his eyes.

"I can make most anything." Draco boasted and Ginny eyed him dubiously.

"Can you bake a pie?" She smirked.

"No." Draco cocked an eyebrow and stared at her.

"Well…Neither can I." Ginny admitted reluctantly and shot him a look that definitely meant 'the point stands.'

"Anything you can buy **I** can buy cheaper." Ginny leaned back on one of the old desks and stuck out her tongue at Malfoy.

"Fifty sickles." Draco motioned to the gaudy necklace that Madam Sprout was wearing.

"Forty sickles." Ginny stared at the necklace and snickered.

"Thirty sickles." Draco looked down at her with a look of smug superiority.

"Twenty." Ginny laughed and Draco blinked.

"No you can't." 

"Yes I can." Ginny confirmed and Draco shot her a look of mild interest for a moment before retreating back to his angry state.

"I could be a racer, quite a Quaffle chaser." Ginny propped her feet up on a chair and sat back on the creaky old desk.

"I can fly you in circles, make you cry like Myrtle." Draco boasted and Ginny rolled her eyes before mouthing 'Harry owns you.'

Draco glared and took a few steps forward. He sneered at Ginny and sat down on one of the sturdier desks next to her just because he was tired of standing.

"I can open any safe." Draco added cockily and Ginny stared at him.

"Without being caught?" She asked, a bit amazed.

"You bet." Draco smirked and leaned forward, towering over Ginny slightly.

"That's what I thought—you crook." She answered wryly and leaned back.

Draco rolled his eyes but didn't have time to make a snide remark. The desk Ginny was sitting in was too old and dilapidated to hold up even her meager weight. It collapsed like a house of cards as she laid back on it and would have dropped Ginny down onto the filthy floor had not Draco's reflexes kicked in. He sprung forward in one cat-like lunge and managed to catch Ginny before she hit. Ginny cracked an eye open and shot a semi-startled look at Draco. The two froze in that position and didn't break until Madam Sprout cleared her throat.

"Might I remind you two that this is a **detention**," Madam Sprout said with obvious insinuation behind her words. She stared at the two as they flew apart like polarized magnets. She eyed them both and folded her arms across her chest. "I suppose you've served out your punishment, go get your wands back from Professor McGonagall." 

Not a moment after Madam Sprout had dismissed them, they were out the door and glaring at each other like there was no tomorrow. They walked in this openly hostile silence for a few hundred feet before Ginny finally spoke up—a serious tone of suspicion in her voice.

"Just _why_ did _you_ catch _me_?" Ginny eyed him and he sneered at her.

"If you'd fallen on the sharp bits of metal beneath that desk," Draco started harshly, "I would have been blamed." He narrowed his eyes and Ginny fell silent.

                "I still hate you." Ginny grumbled something like 'thank-you' and walked a bit faster.

                "I wouldn't have it **any** other way." Draco rolled his eyes and muttered something like a 'your-welcome.'

                The two of them walked in uneasy silence the rest of the way to McGonagall's office. When they entered the Professor's office they both shot each other a flat look and glanced at the stern woman sitting behind her desk. McGonagall looked up at them, set down her quill, and pushed up her glasses before speaking a word.

                "Madam Sprout excused you?" She asked and both of the students nodded rigidly. "Very well." 

                McGonagall pulled open one of the top drawers of her desk and took out both their wands. She let out a heavy sigh, looked at both the students, and set the two wands on the tabletop. "Don't let us catch you dueling again." McGonagall definitely meant don't let **anyone**—'us' in the overall sense—catch them dueling ever again. Or in other words don't ever do it again. But she didn't say that.

                The two snatched up their wands and walked out of McGonagall's office at a speed which was slightly more respectable than a flat out run. They both exited the door at the same time; turned to face each other, shared a deadly glare, and walked off in opposite directions. The two skulked and plotted against one another for hours until they were forced to sleep. They retired and managed to put their vengeance on hold, but the next day was no better. It seems that despite the lack of students actually bearing witness to the duel, someone had leaked out the information.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

                "_Petrificus_ _Totalus_!" Gwendolyn Greengrass exclaimed through a snicker, held her wand in one hand, and pointed it at Malcolm Baddock. 

                "Well, what was that spell that **Ginny Weasley** was supposedly capable of casting that could have covered up for Malfoy's poor aim?" Malcolm mused and held up his wand.

                "Bugger off," Draco spat at them and the pair of Slytherin students burst out laughing as they walked out of the common room.

                "Do try to cheer up now Draco, dear." 

                Draco stiffened for a moment and then relaxed as he realized who was speaking to him. There were only two girls in all the school who used terms of endearment when talking to him. Tracey Davis, just to make her point a bit creepier, and Pansy Parkinson.

                "Davis, I must ask," Draco turned and eyed the tall pale girl. "Have you ever managed to spook Snape by doing that?"

                "Hmmm." She commented and took on an interested expression. "Come to think of it, no. But I will have to give that a try—won't I?" She smirked and swooped over to 'her' chair.

                "You're eyes are slowly gnawing through my patience and constitution, what do you want?" Draco eyed Tracey and she waved her right hand nonchalantly. 

                "Aside from the view that is your maleficent visage?" Tracey asked wryly but couldn't finish her comment.

                "Did someone mention **my** Drakie's _magnificent_ visage?" Both Draco and Tracey cringed as they heard Pansy Parkinson's screechy voice.

                "Maleficent, dear Pansy." Tracey corrected and the prissy blonde shot her an angry look. "Don't play with grown-up words if you can't tell one from the other."

                "Now, now Davis." Draco spoke up. "Didn't you ever learn that you're not supposed to attack the dignity of those possessed of such diminutive powers of deduction."

                Draco had come off sounding incredibly nasty. Tracey frowned slightly and leaned back in the tall leather chair. The normally biting remark that Draco had made was completely lost on both Crabbe, and Goyle. Pansy, however, and her twittering band of cronies managed to retain a bit of it—after all their minds are as quick and attentive as a steel sieve. 

                "Well Drakie darling." Pansy smirked at Tracey—she must have thought Draco was _actually_ defending her. "I've waited patiently for a very long time. I know you want the moment to be perfect and amazingly romantic to show your feelings for me—."

                Draco glanced over at Tracey who locked eyes with him for a moment. They both imagined the same perfect moment with Pansy. Draco, Pansy, on a cliff over the ocean watching the sunset. Then all of a sudden, **shove**, and Pansy was one with the jagged pointy rocks. The only flaw would be the inevitable ticket for littering. But the bill would be worth it.

                "But you're cutting it a bit close, aren't you?" Pansy snapped Draco out of his pleasant imaginings. 

                "What are you on about?" Draco asked and eyed her. She frowned slightly and hit him on the arm—he wasn't amused with the gesture.

                "Silly!" She hit a high-pitched note with her slightly off key voice. "You still have to ask me to the Yule Ball!" 

Draco actually laughed.

"What?" Pansy frowned and knitted her brows together.

"You really believe I'm going with you—don't you?" He smirked and Pansy blinked at him. 

"I heard this terrible rumor that you were going to the ball with some Gryffindor, but I didn't think anything of it…." Pansy stared at him, the same blank expression she always wore was prevalent on her face.

"Tis' no rumor." Tracey spoke flatly and Pansy looked over at her, her features taking on the seething hatred of an enraged baboon. "Draco and thou shall not be coupled together at the Yule's Tide Ball. But fear not, an abysmal harpy such as yourself should have no trouble hooking a male with your exceptionally long, treacherous talons."

"Quiet you!" Pansy hissed and turned to Draco. "Honey, it can't be true—you're going with me right?" She fluttered her eyelashes and smiled at him.

"I'm quite pleased to say," Draco started and Pansy lit up, "I am most certainly not."

"What?" Pansy's voice fell flat and she stared at Draco.

"Thank you Davis." Draco stood up and smirked at the scrawny shadow-like girl. "You have cheered me up."

"I do what I can, and pay someone to do what I can't." Tracey nodded at him and enjoyed the horrified expression on Pansy's face as she watched Draco leave the common room out to the hall.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "I do hereby swear that I, Ginny Weasley, will uphold the good name of all things ploy." Ginny held up her hand and drawled out the club oath. 

                "Seriously! Losing your temper like that and just striking up a duel?" Cho Chang eyed Ginny and crossed her arms over her chest. 

                "I'm sorry, Cho. But he's just such a supreme prat." Ginny put her hand down and leaned back against the bookcase behind her.

                "I know," Cho said quietly and ran her hand through her long black hair. 

                "Of all people, I never would have thought we'd have to hold a special meeting for **you** Ginny." Denis Creevey shook his head and his brother patted him on the back.

                "I do hope you won't simply make poor Megan have to keep recording the meetings for you." Cho scolded and handed Ginny a list of names that had a series of short sentences attached to each of them.

                "This is the list of _all_ the cons?" Ginny flipped through the two pages of paper and looked up at Cho. 

                "Yeah, that's all of them—not including what you're doing." 

                "Getting a little shorter with each meeting, isn't it?" Ginny looked down the list and frowned.

                "Well, they're all getting squeamish. They don't want to try anything big since they're all new." Cho explained while both Colin and Denis nodded behind her. "They've never seen someone pull anything **big** so they don't want to try."

                "This is some attempt to bring me back in isn't it?" Ginny put her hands on her hips and stared at the Chinese girl.

                "Of course. But that doesn't mean it isn't true." Cho smiled brightly and Ginny rolled her eyes.

                "Fine, I'll come in to the next meeting and have a talk with them." Ginny agreed reluctantly and the other three beamed.

                "You're a doll Virginia." Cho mused and walked out with Denis and Colin close behind her.

                "Conniving little…" Ginny grumbled and trailed off. She finished listing something near thirty loathe-able qualities that Cho possessed and smirked. "No wonder they made her president." Ginny shrugged and walked out of the Library. 

                She swung her bag over her shoulder, intending to head over to the Quidditch Pitch to watch the Gryffindor team practice but her stomach cut her off. Her mid-section let off a quiet rumble and she sighed before walking off towards the Great Hall. 

                After all, a girl's got to eat.

**Author's Notes:** Wow, romance! 

Lo, and behold. The next chapter that consisted (partially) of an adapted song! I sincerely hope that the song choice wasn't too hokey. But alas, I heard it and suddenly felt compelled. Lucky for all of you rebellious reviewers I realized just how irritating the song was and cut it down to half the lyrics.

Seven reviews per chapter. Great Ratio, that. Do try to keep it up.

By the by, I would really love a beta reader….(Cue painfully obvious request that lacks subtlety in every way shape or form.)

Volunteers?

I love all you reviewers! _*Flicks a switch on her stereo and the sound of applause fills the air.*_

There you have it. A computer generated audience, got to love modern technology.

Ignore.

**Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling. Never will be.**


	6. Lame Duck

                Lame Duck

"Hi Harry," Ginny smiled at Harry and stumbled as she walked past him to get to her seat. 

                "Ron, what's up with Ginny?" Harry waved a bit at Ginny and watched as she knocked over a pitcher of juice. 

                "Oh I don't like it…." Ron grumbled and Harry looked at him with a confounded expression.

                "You've never dealt with young girls, have you Harry?" Hermione glanced at him and he shook his head. "Well then there's no wonder you've never seen anyone do that."

                "I've never seen anyone…stumble and knock over a pitcher of juice?" Harry asked and cocked an eyebrow. He didn't follow.

                "Right," Hermione said and shook her head. She knew that look—she was going to have to explain it. "It's a trick all girls use. They call it '**Lame Duck'**."

                "So…she acts like an injured duck and that helps her…um…What?" Harry eyed Hermione and she rolled her eyes.

                "Lame Duck is an act Harry." Hermione started to explain it slowly so Harry could ask questions. Ron knew some of this already but he was busy loathing the situation between his sister and a certain Slytherin.  "It's when you pretend to be weak and fragile that way people take pity on you."

                "Ginny wants pity?" Harry asked dubiously.

                "Let's try another approach." Hermione closed the book she'd been reading and folded her hands on the table. "If Ginny were to get into a fistfight with say…Parvati Patil, and they were caught by teachers."

                "Ginny getting into a fistfight with Parvati?" Harry stared at Hermione like she'd gone mad.

                "Hypothetical, Harry." Hermione shook her head and continued. "If Ginny was losing, and looked like she was worse off she could play Lame Duck. She could probably pretend that her injuries hurt more than they did, and use her own small personage to get herself a much lighter punishment—if any at all."

                "Girls do that?" Harry asked and glanced over at Ginny who was chatting with Neville.

                "**All** girls do that at one time or another Harry." Hermione smiled smugly. "But Ginny is really, really good at it."

                "What do you mean?" Harry asked sounding a bit worried. "There are levels?"

                "Something like that." Hermione waved her hand and took a sip of her water. "Normally girls can usually tell when someone's playing Lame Duck, but Ginny's so good at it that I don't think even McGonagall could ferret her out. The worst part of that is, I've never seen her really use her skills."

                "What?" Harry choked out. This secret world of girls was starting to shock Harry just a bit. 

                "Well, I bet she's really good at it when she gets going—judging by the fit Fred and George threw when they saw her let up her act." Hermione answered simply and glanced at the fuming Ron.

                "Ron," Harry said flatly and waved his hand in front of the redhead's face.

                "What?" Ron looked at them both and blinked.

                "Surely you know why Fred and George were so scared of Ginny yesterday?" Hermione eyed him and Ron went very, very pale.

                "What's wrong?" Harry asked and put his hand on the pale boy's shoulders.

                "She did something that bad?" Hermione asked looking more than a tad astonished and leaned over the table slightly. Ron nodded and started his story.

                "It was a long time ago, way back when Ginny was around five—I think." Ron stared and glanced over his shoulder to make sure Ginny wasn't towering over him. "It was her birthday and Fred and George decided to wake her up with some fireworks." 

                "They did?" Hermione's eyes widened slightly and Ron continued.

                "They set them off right next to her head and she shot up out of bed with a terrible start. They burst out laughing—I warned them not to do it, I did! They both realized something was _deadly_ wrong with the situation when they didn't hear Ginny yelling, or crying, or anything." Ron gulped and shook his head slightly. "They looked at her and they both nearly fainted. She was madder than she'd ever been. They'd burned her hair, and the stupid gits had managed to singe most of the pink color out of her favorite pink stuffed bear."

                "Oh no," Hermione winced and Harry listened with rapt attention.

                "She glared at them and I remember she looked mean as a dragon. Terrifying it was." Ron shuddered. "They started falling over themselves with apologies, but it was too late. She counted down from five and by the time she hit one she was bawling. She ran out of the room, and I had to jump into Mum and Dad's room just to get out of the way. She bolted down the hall, and went straight for the kitchen." Ron had a very dark look on his face and Harry waited for the next part.

                "Well?" Harry asked. "What happened?"

                "Harry. A five year old Ginny ran into the kitchen with burnt hair, purple cow pajamas, and a singed pink bear out in front of her crying like there was no tomorrow." Ron looked at Harry and answered him flatly. "What do you think happened?"

                "Which one was it?" Hermione interrupted and Ron glanced over at her.

                "Mum got mad, but Ginny ran straight to Dad. He went off on Fred and George. Mum had to convince him to reduce their sentence." Ron took a deep breath. 

                "What did they get?" Harry wanted to know just how bad those two would need to be punished to scare them enough that they'd wanted to help Malfoy.

                "Nothing magic for two months—at all. They were only allowed to have vegetables, unsalted, and water to eat for one month. No leaving the house unless it burned down, and no contact with the outside world for the rest of the summer."  Ron nodded gravely and Harry stared at him with disbelief. "Mum reduced it all down to one month and managed to get them more than vegetables to eat, but still…." 

                "Ginny's _that_ good?" Hermione sat back in her seat and stared at Ron. 

                "I never would have thought…." Harry sounded totally amazed. "But then it does make some sort of twisted sense. The only girl out of the lot and the youngest to boot…she probably used that skill quite a bit." Harry glanced down the table at the innocent looking Virginia Weasley with a new sort of respect.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

                "Colin, do you have any idea why Harry has been staring at me with that _approving_ look on his face ever since I sat down?" Ginny asked and tried to quell the euphoria that was threatening to burst forth and send her dancing on the tabletop.

                "Not the faintest," Colin said and looked at her. "Think you could sound any happier about it though?" He asked and Ginny flushed.

                "Is it that obvious?" Ginny blinked.

                "Does Snape have a personal vendetta against all Gryffindors?" Colin whispered and Ginny scrambled to try and quell her expression.

                "How about now?" Ginny asked and forced her face to remain blank.

                "It would be more convincing it you weren't going to break that glass." Colin commented and Ginny blinked.

                "What?" Ginny looked down at the glass of pumpkin juice in her hand. She'd been squeezing hard enough to crack it down the side. "Oh." Ginny managed so say as she let go of the glass and left it to sit on the table. 

                "Calm down Ginny," Colin said happily and finished his meal. "I'm sure you'll find out why Harry's been watching you!" Colin laughed and the two of them stood up.

                "Alright, I'll calm down," Ginny said and took a deep breath.

                "Good, after all we wouldn't want you breaking anymore glasses." Colin smiled and the two of them walked out of the Great Hall. "By the by, don't forget to show up at the meeting tonight."

                "Long live Con-Artists anonymous…" Ginny waved her hand nonchalantly and Colin rolled his eyes.

                "Hey, don't go knocking it." Colin warned her and smiled halfheartedly.

                "Sorry Colin, see you later." 

Ginny waved as he walked away and stood outside the Great Hall for a while contemplating where to go next. She had some free time to kill. There were no classes for about an hour, no Quidditch Practices she could go watch (or join in on), and no homework that she had was left unfinished. She didn't have to think long on what she was going to do because a new situation presented itself.

"Weasley, darling."

Ginny nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the smooth and eerie voice behind her. Ginny put her hand over her rapidly beating heart and turned around to see just who'd snuck up on her. 

"Um, yes?" Ginny asked and blinked at the tall, pale, and strangely sticklike girl that had snuck up on her.

"Strange, you don't seem like the evil twisted type…." Tracey Davis leaned forward and inspected the shorter girl. 

"Pardon me?" Ginny eyed her and backed up a step. 

"Hmmm…but you _are_ prettier than that silly sod Parkinson." Terence Higgs gave Ginny a look of mild approval.

Ginny spun around again and spotted the boy that had just come out of the Great Hall.

                "I concur," Tracey said nonchalantly and smirked.

"Thanks?" Ginny wandered just what was up today. 

                "And she's less irritating. Not a squeal yet!" Blaise commented and walked up behind Terence.

                "Where **are** you people coming from?" Ginny looked at all three of them and double-checked to make sure more of them weren't sneaking up behind her. "Did I miss some lesson that detailed the Slytherin ability to slink out of shadows?"           

                "I thought that was a secret class," Terence said flatly and glanced at Blaise. She shrugged.

                "I've a question."

                The three Slytherin froze and Ginny muttered something unflattering under her breath.

                "Just what in all the wizarding world are _you three_ doing?" Draco asked flatly and swept his icy gaze over each one of his housemates.

                "Just disproving your depression." Tracey leaned back against the rail on the stair and stared at Draco.

                "I can see why you turned the charm on her…especially from behind." Terence made a very lewd comment and Ginny stared at him incredulously.

                "Do keep it to yourself Higgs." Blaise sighed and looked a bit surprised when Ginny interrupted the whole conversation. 

                "Stop everything!" Ginny dropped her bag and threw up her arms. "I would **sincerely** like to know why I'm the center of conversation in the **Slytherin** ranks?" Ginny shot them all the same dangerous look she normally sent at Draco.

                "There's that glint." Tracey sounded happy, sort of, but fell silent when Ginny gave her the well known (among the family at least) Weasley evil eye. That skill, however, was a prominently female trait.

                "Well?" Ginny put her hands on her hips and glared at the group of Slytherin students. The three that had approached her shared a look and dispersed silently. Draco remained and watched them walk off. "Are you going to answer, or not?" Ginny asked, all hostility in her voice.

                "Why do you think I know?" Draco asked her coldly and the two glared at each other.

                "Probably you bragging to your friends—if you can call them that." Ginny snapped.

                "Bragging?" Draco let out a hollow laugh and eyed her. "About what? You're womanly physique?" He looked her over and scoffed.

                "Why you bloody wanker!" Ginny exclaimed and drew the attention of the few students walking out by the stairs. "I'll have you for that one." Ginny narrowed her eyes and picked up her bag.

                "Bring it on Weasley." Draco challenged and sneered at her as she walked past him and off towards the Library.

                "You watch your back Malfoy! You're going down for that!" Ginny growled loudly.

                "Ginny, what's wrong?" Megan Jones asked Ginny in a very small voice as she stormed by. Megan was nearly knocked off balance and Ginny took her by the wrist and pulled her off towards the Library.

                "We're having a meeting, **now**." Ginny finished in a dangerous tone and Megan's eyes went wide.

                "You gone daft?" Megan dropped her façade and stared at Ginny. "This is an emergency is it?" 

                Ginny nodded gravely in response and released the older girl. The older girl ran off quickly to alert the other members while Ginny walked the rest of the way to the Library. Malfoy was about to learn a very, very important lesson. 

Don't screw with the quiet ones—you never know what they're up to.

**Author's Notes:** Interesting, no?  The next chapter will have the first meeting and full reasoning behind this special club that has been referenced so many times. I do hope you'll forgive the trio moment, but it was quite necessary.

I'm impressed. You all enjoy my jokes (especially those pertaining to the Slytherin—and Pansy on the cliff)! Not seven, but eight reviews—and that's not all—Cyber cookies (which author is currently munching on) and three offers for beta readers!

I thank all my reviewers, and all those who offered. I've chosen my beta-reader but thank you anyways. I do hope you all enjoyed the chapter. 

Revolutionary ideas such as _Reviewing_ is what alters and shapes the face of the world. Which is most needed and appreciated in these times.

 The below, however, is not a revolutionary idea. It is conformist and can be dealt with as any Rebels feel fit.

**Disclaimer: Still not J.K. Rowling and I can't write or play music to save my life. ** 


	7. Rumors

                Rumors

"Everyone settle down!" Cho spoke loudly and was very thankful that the meeting had been placed under silence spell—Madam Pince would be on them in a second if she heard them. "Please settle down!"

                The group of twenty or so students refused to quiet. They were talking, arguing, and sending nervous looks at the bookracks all around them. The club had never held a meeting during daylight hours. It was unheard of to gather in the Library when there was a chance they'd be caught. In fact, it was this chance that kept nearly half the club members from showing up in person. Ginny, whom most of the members were meeting for the first time, stood up and stepped in front of Cho.

                "Yall', shut up!" Ginny bellowed and everyone fell silent. It was quite strange to hear the word 'Yall' in a British accent—most of them wondered where she'd heard it.

                "Thank you," the exasperated Cho Chang said and looked out at the group. "Everyone rise for the oath." Cho gave them a stern look and they all stood up. They knew the drill.

                "We do hereby swear to uphold the good name of all things Ploy. In doing this we will aid our fellow players, be they jess or jasper, hit their marks and work them over, we will keep up face even in the face of danger, never show what's really up our sleeves, but mostly we will never close a _show_ or cut scene on another movement."

                Everyone announced in unison and once they were done one of the girls in the back raised her hand.

                "Yes?" Cho pointed to her and she stood up.

                "I've been meaning to ask," she started and put her hands on her hips. "What in the world is all that supposed to mean?"

                "Oh, you're new aren't you?" Cho eyed her and she nodded. "Right.

                "This oath was written out in the original chapter of 'The Players Club' over in America. It was put into the first ploy book by the club's most valued member, Frank D' Abignale—formerly 'Stripes.'" Cho held up the book she was holding and motioned to the author. "Since this book was written about sixty years ago, and in New York, the slang is a bit outlandish." 

                Cho opened up the book, flipped to the oath page, and started translating.

                "I'm sure you all know what a **ploy** is." Cho eyed them and they all shot her wry looks. "Right. Players were a colloquial for actors during this time period. Actors, or players, were required to hit a **mark**. Our mark is whoever we happen to be **working-over** or the center of our ploy. A Jess—female—or a Jasper—male—was an out-of-towner, a blow-in, or a tourist. In this case it refers to the players." Cho looked up from her book and blinked.

                "Any questions so far?"

 No one raised their hand.

 "Good." Cho continued reading. "**Keeping up face** is just remembering not to let down your act. **Close a show** or **Cut scene on another movement** both refer to messing up someone else's ploy. There, now can we continue?" Cho eyed the girl who'd asked and she nodded. "Ginny, you have the floor."

"Hello everyone," Ginny stood in front of the tightly packed assembly of the best actors in all of Hogwarts. The shy, the geeky, the clumsy, the outcasts, only now they were all poised, graceful, and outspoken—in other words they were all out of character. "Some of you may not know me. My name is Virginia Weasley, Ginny."

"Hello Ginny." The group chorused and Ginny sent them all a flat look that silenced them.

"This is **not** an A.A. meeting, you don't need to welcome me." Ginny started and then remembered why she was there. "Everyone I've called this meeting—."

"You mean you called this bloody meeting?"

"You're the prat who hauled me down here from the Astronomy Tower?"

"Oh be quiet for a moment!" Ginny threw her arms up. "This isn't just a meeting to I can say 'Hello'! I'm here because I want to organize something big." 

The group fell deathly silent and then a few members started whispering. After all, nothing _big_ had been pulled in a while, not since the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Ginny put her arms down and set her hands on her hips before continuing. 

"The first stage of my plan will only require the girls." 

"What's the plan? Who's the mark?" Laura Madley interrupted Ginny and Ginny smirked.

"The mark is Draco Malfoy." Ginny said proudly and everyone in the room shared a worried looks. "Don't worry, this isn't a direct shot."

"Direct shot?"

"It means she doesn't want us all to actually go up to him."

"Oh."

"The plan is the best kind, twisted, unnecessarily complex on the outside while painfully simple on the inside, and it will require all of us together to pull it off." Ginny smiled at the group and all the girls stood up.

"What do you need us to do?" Cho asked and Ginny smirked. She was about to answer when Megan Jones cut her off.

"What did he do?" Megan asked and Ginny frowned.

"He gave me a once over and laughed." Ginny replied flatly and the group shared the same sentiment. Every one of the boys started snickering, not a Ginny—no—but at the fate poor Mr. Malfoy was going to have. Every one of the girls took on a very cold and grim expression while Ginny described what she needed them to do. Once her explanation was complete the girls nodded and left the Library with a purpose. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "What in the name of Merlin is going on around here?" Draco growled under his breath. Crabbe and Goyle would have replied had their brains not been working to comprehend the meaning of the word 'what.'

                Draco's day had started out reasonably well, then he remembered his _Weasley Dilemma_. It seemed that little bit of information was the only real damper on his day—until he spotted the group of Slytherins gathered around the object of his downfall.  He dispersed them before they could pry any information from her or vice versa, but then everything had started on a downward spiral. The comment he'd spat back at her, on reflex, didn't seem quite as bad while it was still in his head but the moment it had passed his lips he was proven wrong. 

It was worse, far worse, than it had sounded in his head.

He shrugged off her insult, thinking it hollow, and went about his daily routine. Only an hour after he'd insulted Ginny Weasley things started to change, drastically. At first girls in the halls, of all ages and houses, started giving him dirty looks. This wasn't **too** uncommon; it was just the scale of it that seemed a bit off. Swiftly, as if the looks of distaste were just embers that someone had decided to go and pour gasoline on, the dirty looks turned to quite comments and girls avoiding him as if he was a leper. 

Then it got really bad.

He'd just stopped outside a classroom and asked a girl if he might borrow a quill, just for a moment. He'd been perfectly polite and had every intention of giving the blasted thing back but she reacted extremely. She'd screeched something about _'Never you filthy, sadistic, male chauvinist pig!'_ Draco stared at her as she walked off swiftly with her friends and decided to try asking a different girl. The next girl he asked reacted along the same lines—_'What do you want it for? Womanizing! Maybe so you can write your name on my forehead like a cattle brand! I think not!'_—As did the next—_'Get away from me! Louse! Unclean! Unclean!'_—However the fourth girl reacted slightly differently, as if the rumor had suddenly changed. (_'You disgust me…can't you even see that those poor things have feelings! Of course you can't. You're just so full of hate and pride that you'd even stoop _that_ low.'_)

Draco was left standing in a hall filled only with Crabbe, Goyle, himself, and what few confused male students remained.

"All I bloody wanted was a quill!" He shouted and roughly shoved the parchment he'd needed to fill out back in his bag.

"Malfoy." 

Malfoy turned to see Tracey Davis leaning against the wall, holding out a quill. Something was wrong here. Her tone had been dangerously low, she'd not called him by either his first name or a term of endearment, and she was currently dissecting him with her eyes.

"Thank you," Draco said cautiously and took the quill from her. "By the way, why are you looking at me like that?" Draco asked slowly and Tracey cocked an eyebrow.

"As if you didn't know." She glared at him and frowned.

"If you haven't noticed, Davis, I **don't** know." Draco said quietly and Tracey looked shocked.

"Goth almighty!" Tracey's eyes went wide and she could almost feel her creepy calm slipping away. "You don't know…you admitted it aloud…." Tracey paled considerably and looked like she was going to faint. 

"Honestly." Draco sneered and Tracey regained some of her composure. 

"Oh I'm sorry I ever thought naught of you, darling Draco!" Tracey almost looked as if she was about to hug him, **almost**.

"What?" Draco stared at her and she suddenly looked very nervous.

"There's a terrible set of rumors going around, spreading like wildfire—they even have _supposed_ witnesses." Tracey whispered and motioned for Draco to come closer. Normally he would have simply backed away but he had to know what the rumors were. He leaned forward, against his better judgment, and Tracey whispered the terrible things in his ear.  At first Draco was simply angry, then he was irate, after that he progressed to homicidal. 

"Who told you these things?" Draco grabbed Tracey by the collar of her robes and growled through his teeth.

"I heard it from a Ravenclaw by the name of Sarah Fawcett," Tracey replied and tried not to shrink from Draco's dangerous gaze. 

He released her promptly and went off in search of Sarah Fawcett. Nearly fifteen minutes of searching through the halls and the crowds of disgusted girls produced quite acceptable results. He'd managed to catch Sarah Fawcett coming out of a bathroom on the second floor. She'd taken off running when she spotted him, but he overtook her before she got very far.

"You!" He seethed and forced her to back into a corner. She looked around, swore under her breath, and paled considerably as she saw the look in Malfoy's eyes. "You started these…these…**vile** rumors! Didn't you?" 

Sarah looked torn. She was scared out of her mind but she couldn't, in good conscience, ruin Ginny's ploy. After all she had her dignity as a club member. 

"Answer me," He hissed and drew his wand on her. She 'eep-ed.'

"I didn't start them!" She cried and threw her arms up to shield her face.

"Who did?" Draco asked in a very low, very infuriated tone.

"I can't say…." She choked out and Draco narrowed his eyes at her.

Draco Malfoy was not, by nature, a very patient person. The fact that he'd heard rumors about himself, a blast-ended skrewt, and a few other unmentionable things just made him less patient. He swished his wand at her and cast a simple hex before stalking off to find the culprit. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "This is working better than I could have ever hoped." Ginny walked down the hall with Colin and listened to the hushed conversations concerning the rumors they'd only started to spread half an hour ago.

                "I think a few of the girls embellished a bit," Colin commented and furrowed his brow slightly. "After all, I don't recall the original story involving any flobber-worms…."

                "Embellishment is just another form of **ad-lib**, and to ad-lib is every player's right." Ginny shook her finger at Colin and he shrugged.

                "True, true," Colin agreed and the two of them continued walking. They'd just turned a corner when they were nearly run down by Megan Jones.

                "Oh my Ginny!" Megan whined and Ginny pulled her off to the side. She was breaking character in front of a large crowd; this was totally astounding coming from a player of her quality. Luckily the crowd was too busy with bigger, nastier rumors and they ignored the three.

                "What?" Ginny asked swiftly and Megan's eyes went wide.

                "He's taking out the players! One by one!" Megan spoke weakly and Ginny paled. 

                "Where are they?" Colin asked before Ginny could.

                "P-Pomfrey's!" Megan shouted. 

                Both Ginny and Colin abandoned the shaky Megan instantly and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. Draco was picking out the players, and with that rumor there was no telling what he'd do to them. They cut through the crowd, ran down the stairs so fast they nearly stumbled, and wheeled around the corners at top speed by swinging around on whatever they could use to reorient themselves. The two of them practically broke down the door as they threw it open and halted in the infirmary.

"For the love of all that's good! You two are lucky Pomfrey left!" 

Ginny froze and looked at the beds that had been filled with Player's Club members. Only three of them looked unscathed, but they were all sitting next to the member that had _gotten the bad end of the stick, so to speak. Laura Madley was seated next to Kevin Whitby, who'd been turned blue and was holding his arm like it was broken, Michael Corner was standing over Sally-Ann Perks who's hair had become a set of rather vicious snakes, and Orla Quirke was trying to comfort the fox-like Su Li who'd been muzzled by Madam Pomfrey._

"Can 'us 'ome 'unnin' in 'ere 'ike 'a."

Everyone heard Sarah, apparently she'd tried to say 'Can't just come running in here like that,' but she was interrupted halfway through her warning.

Ginny walked into the room and stared at Sarah Fawcett who looked like she'd gotten the worst of all the hexing. She was clutching a bucket and couldn't speak any hard letters because there seemed a never-ending stream of slugs pouring out of her mouth. That wasn't the worst she'd gotten though. Not only had she been cursed to spit up slugs for Merlin knows how long, but her skin now vaguely resembled that of an iguana and her hair had turned bright magenta.

"I'm so sorry!" Ginny cried and stared at them. She'd expected Draco to get mad, but not **this** mad.

"Perfectly fine, Ginny," Kevin said and waved his electric blue hand at her. The others let out groans and grumbles that repeated and agreed with his statement.

"But you do realize you owe us all now, right?" Laura eyed her and looked down at Kevin sympathetically. 

"Of course," Ginny replied and bowed courteously to all of them.

"Do you want us to stage two?" Michael Corner asked apprehensively and Ginny put on a stern expression.

"I'll start stage two, I'll just need Colin and Cho for this bit." Ginny grinned evilly and all the players smiled.

**Author's Notes:** Well, here we are, chapter seven. I hope this story isn't getting too strange. The good news is we're slowly getting closer and closer to true romance! The next few chapters will have quite a bit of Draco/Ginny, and perhaps a few more romantic moments. Hurrah.

Many thanks to those of you who review! 

Many jeers to the lawyers that force me to use this.

Disclaimer: Not Rowling. The end. 


	8. The Kiss

                The Kiss                

"Draco Malfoy!" 

                Draco spun around, an evil, angry look in his eyes. He spotted Cho Chang, surrounded by her standard entourage of giggling girls. Draco sighed—at least it wasn't Pansy.

                "What do you want?" Draco snapped and narrowed his eyes at the Chinese girl.

                "I've heard the rumors—." Cho started and Draco cut her off.

                "Wonderful, you here to tell me what a sadistic, evil person I am?"

                "No, I already knew that you were a sadistic, evil person." Cho replied flatly and smiled. "I'm here to recommend you go and check out the cork-board just outside the Great Hall."

                "Why?" Draco asked curtly and eyed her.

                "Someone's gone and posted up a formal apology," Cho started with a tone that was almost as if she were talking about the weather.

                "I should care?" Draco stared at her and wondered if she'd lost it.

                "They signed your name." Cho finished and Draco immediately broke into a dead run towards the Great Hall. Cho watched him bolt around the corner, and his two cronies jogged behind him. She smirked a bit and whispered something to herself.

                "Hook, line, and sinker."

                "Did you say something Cho?" One of the giggling girls asked and beamed up at Cho.

                "No, nothing." Cho lied and brushed some of her hair back behind her ear. 

                _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "There's the signal," Ginny said quietly as she saw a few blue sparks tumble through the window just down the hall from where she was standing. Colin saw Malfoy coming.

                Ginny quickly took the apology, cast a spell on it so it glowed, and tacked it up on the random-announcement-board. She smirked and quickly ducked off into the crowd as Malfoy came running around the corner.

                "What's this then?" Anthony Goldstein snatched the glowing piece of parchment off the board and started to read it.

                "Drop it Hufflepuff."

                Anthony looked up and saw the end of Draco Malfoy's wand pointed directly at him. Anthony's eyes widened slightly and Draco took the paper from him. Draco put his wand away and Anthony made a break for it. Draco scanned the crowd of students out in front of the Great Hall for anyone that looked mildly suspicious.

                "Where's the fire Ginny?"

                Draco snapped his attention over to the stairs where he spotted Ginny Weasley. She was staring down at him like a deer in the headlights and trying frantically to get around Seamus Finnigan.

                "Did you get your revenge on that blonde git yet?" Seamus asked and Ginny paled.

                "You!" Draco shouted and Ginny finally just shoved Seamus down.

                Draco hopped over the banister and took off running after the redhead. He may have been an athlete but Weasley could run. Must have been the fact that she was so very skinny. He chased after her and followed as she tried to lose him around corners and out through courtyards. She finally, in a last ditch effort, ran up a set of moving stairs and made an astonishing leap over to one of the shifting cases. 

                Funny that she should try to lose him in the air.

                In one stride Draco hopped up on the banister. In just one more quick movement he'd leapt into the air and managed to grab Ginny's arm. They landed on the shifting stairs and both of them lost their balance. Had they **not** been connected they probably would have been fine. However, seeing as Draco refused to let go of her arm, the two of them tumbled down the stairs, into the hall, and halted abruptly as they crashed into a broom closet door. 

                It took both of them a moment to recover from the incident but once they had they proceeded to glare at each other. Ginny struggled to get her arm free but Draco refused to release her.

                "You're the one doing this!" He growled.

                "You did this to yourself!" Ginny retorted and frowned.

                "You'll stop this at once!" Draco shouted and Ginny scoffed.

                "This is only the beginning." Ginny seethed back at him and he narrowed his eyes.

                "Is that a _threat_?" 

                "…Why no," Ginny's voice fell soft and her features calmed considerably. She was looking at him with something close to compassion for a moment before she spoke again. "It was a fluffy bunny-rabbit." 

                "You have no idea how acutely depressing it is to realize we're from the same species." Draco snarled and Ginny's expression went back to its standard—at least around Draco—angry position.

                "I'm sorry, do I resemble your therapist?" Ginny asked dryly and tried once more to pull her arm back from Draco.

                "You're pushing it Weasley." Draco had to resist the urge to draw his wand and curse her.

                "You may pretend to dislike me, but deep down, you know you hate me." Ginny egged him on further and pouted a bit. Draco was about to shout some sardonic comeback at her when she pulled on her arm. She pulled as hard as she could, hoping that she'd break free of his grasp, but unlike other people Draco Malfoy didn't release when someone fought back.

                Ginny pulled her arm and threw him off balance. He lurched forward unexpectedly. She let out a small shout as he tripped forward and they both fell to the ground. Her shout was quickly muffled as his lips connected with hers. Ginny stared into the cool grey eyes of Draco Malfoy for just a moment. He was just as shocked about this development as she was. He instantly released her arm and jumped off of her. Ginny coughed and wiped her mouth a few times harshly.

                "_Thank you_ Mr. Malfoy, now I have to go brush my teeth!" Ginny shouted as she stood up.

                "I feel ill." Draco eyed her and shook his head. "Bloody weasel germs, I'll have to see Pomfrey for this."

                "I'm not your type; I'm not inflatable." Ginny glared and they both stalked off in opposite directions. 

                _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "I can't believe I did that." Draco groaned and leaned back on the couch. Right now he was loathing Ginny Weasley more than ever before—however this statement was pretty hollow considering he'd never really loathed her.

                "I can't sympathize with you if you don't tell what you can't believe." Terence said calmly and looked up from his book.

                "Really Draco, what did you do?" Blaise eyed him and Draco straightened up a bit.

                "I let her go without a proper hex." He muttered and left out the entire kissing issue.

                "Well then just go find her and give her the old Slytherin one-two." Terence said with a sort of irritated tone. Draco ignored the way he'd said it—but it was a good piece of advice.

                 Draco got up, lazily, and closed his book. He stuffed it back into his bag and walked out of the Slytherin common room.  As he walked out into the hall he passed Tracey Davis. He shot her a look and must have communicated some silent message to her because she nodded and stepped through the door. Crabbe and Goyle started after him sluggishly but they were stopped by Tracey who seemed intent on getting to know both of them on a personal level.

                "If I were a vindictive rodent where would I spend my time?" Draco asked aloud and pondered where he should start looking. He strolled down the hall and passed a pair of girls. He wouldn't have noticed them, normally, but one of them mentioned his name in a loud conversation. Rather brilliant plan, talk loud enough that no one cares what you're talking about.

                "Draco Malfoy." Jennifer Moon, a Slytherin girl that Draco never talked to, commented to her friend with a smirk.

                "I know," Emma Dobbs smiled and shook her head. "I can't believe it either."

                They looked interested, intrigued, and seemed to take some ironic joy as they mused his name in casual conversation. 

                "Did you hear the rumors they put out?" Jennifer snickered and Emma shook her head while suppressing a laugh.

                "I know. Preposterous aren't they?" Emma's voice showed her amusement more than her expression. 

                Draco smirked and slowed his pace so that he could follow them without their knowledge. It was good to know someone other than Tracey Davis had faith in him—if that was what it could be called.

                "You'd think they went and contracted the worst _play-write_ in all of Europe." Jennifer laughed and covered her hand with her mouth. "I wonder what she's planning next?"

                "I've no idea, but Megan just called us to **another** meeting." Emma sighed and put her hands on her hips. 

                "We didn't show for the first one, what makes her think we're going to show up now?" Jennifer snorted and Emma eyed her.

                "Especially now that Malfoy is tracking down all the players. Did you see poor Sarah?" Emma asked and the two turned down an empty corridor.

                "Who?" Jennifer furrowed her brow slightly and looked at Emma.

                "That new girl—that's right! You're a veteran, you wouldn't know her by name yet." Emma said and the two of them stopped walking.

                Draco halted at the corner and listened to the girls' conversation. After all, he was mentioned so it was his business. Not that he really needed to **justify** any of his actions.

                "She was the one who got the Mary-Sue job, wasn't she?" Jennifer asked and Emma nodded solemnly. "Gah! With that psychopath walking around…." Jennifer shook her head and Draco started to get annoyed.

                "I know, with that psycho…Draco is going to need some help." Emma sighed and Draco blinked. "Did you hear that both the Weasley twins are out to save the twit?"

                "I didn't." Jennifer said incredulously and they started walking again. "How'd they find out?"

                "Relative's privilege." Emma answered nonchalantly. "They eavesdropped on one of her meetings in the Library."

                Draco walked off, away from the two girls, and headed straight for the Library. Perhaps he could find out just what she was up to before she unleashed it on him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "Let's try this again, shall we?" Ginny crumpled up a piece of parchment and went back to dictating as her bewitched quill diagramed what she told it. "He spots me. I, like an idiot, run. He chases me. We end up in a jumbled mess. Insults exchanged. All this together should equal what?" 

Ginny looked down at the furiously writing quill. It had drawn, in stick figures, the entire situation. The quill finished its last mark and hopped out of the way so Ginny would examine the end result.

"According to this, and the standard laws of the universe, we should have killed each other." Ginny said flatly and crumpled up the picture. "Diagram how this could have **possibly** ended in me kissing one, Draco Malfoy." Ginny commanded and the quill started drawing a hurried pictorial sequence of events. When it was finished Ginny snatched up the paper and read it aloud with nearly no amusement.

"He spots me. I, _like an idiot_—you really didn't have to write that—, run. He chases me." Ginny paused on the next panel and shot a curious look at her quill. "You must be broken." She shook her head and read the panel aloud. "Hell freezes over. Draco and I start snogging like a bad romance novel." Ginny groaned and crumpled up the paper. She tossed it into the trash with the rest of her used parchments. A small pile was forming—she'd soon need both a new trashcan and more parchment.

The quill scratched on the paper and Ginny glanced at it.

"No more today, just get back in the bag." Ginny grumbled and the quill obeyed. "Home Stenographer, my eye."

"Just why didn't he want to let go of my arm?" Ginny asked herself and slouched down in one of the chairs. "Probably because he wanted to cut it off." Ginny convinced herself of that and pulled out a book. Ginny was so caught up in her book that she didn't notice as Harry walked up behind her and unfolded one of the many crumpled up pieces of paper.

"Merlin Gin, you didn't kill Malfoy did you?" Harry asked and Ginny nearly fell out of her seat she was so startled.

"W-what?" She asked and quickly regained her composure. Harry just held up one of the diagrams her quill had drawn and smiled at her. "Oh, that…" Ginny laughed nervously and Harry sat down at her table.

"Say Ginny," Harry started and took on an expression that told Ginny he wasn't comfortable with what he was about to say. "I know you don't want to go with…Malfoy…to the Yule Ball. Would you like to go with me?" Harry asked sounding a little pained. 

Ginny blanched and her mind reeled. Harry Potter had just asked her to go to a ball with him. It was her greatest hope materialized right before her. She sat there lamely for a moment and then something terrible entered her mind. Ginny frowned and Harry looked more than mildly surprised. 

"Sorry Harry," Ginny grumbled through clenched teeth and Harry looked like he was going to faint dead away.

"What?" Harry asked and Ginny folded her arms across her chest. She was livid.

"I lost a bet to stupid cheating Malfoy, and he asked me first." Ginny gritted her teeth and glared at the table. "I have to go with him. Weasley honor."

"Why?" Harry was stunned and could only manage monosyllable words.

"Harry, as much as I hate to say it, there has never been a Weasley female that has actually canceled on a date." Ginny muttered. "Don't ask me why. But I'm not breaking the line now."

"Oh." Harry said and blinked.

Meanwhile Malfoy, who was stationed behind the bookcase trying not to laugh audibly, smirked. 

_'So the little Weasley can't drop me before the dance…that's why she's been trying to piss me off!'_ Malfoy thought to himself and a few brilliant ideas formulated in his mind. _'This is just too good to waste fighting.'_ Malfoy snickered manically and sat down at a nearby table.

**Author's Notes:** Goodness! I'm running out of canonical names for unimportant students! This means I'll actually have to start thinking…dang. I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The argument seemed a little lame to me…but that must just be the lack of sleep talking.

I really liked this chapter….

Care to review and tell me just how disillusioned I am?

You can't see the below….

**Disclaimer: Still not British…darn.**


	9. Distracting Romance Novels

Distracting Romance Novels

"Well, see you later Harry," Ginny said sounding a bit more than mildly disappointed that he had to go.

                "I'm sorry about the tradition Gin." Harry wore a confused expression but waved at her in a friendly manner as he left the Library to meet Ron and Hermione. 

She'd tried to explain the tradition of the Weasley females to him nearly five times before he understood (or at least claimed he did). Malfoy had been listening from his seat—obscured from their view—and had nearly jumped up and spelt it out for the blockhead.

Finally, when Harry had left, Ginny went back to reading her book. Yet again, she was so caught up in her reading that she didn't notice Malfoy walk up behind her. If she had, she would have made a break for it—possibly by jumping out the window just off to her right. Draco took this possibility into consideration and sat himself down at the seat just to the right of Ginny. 

He opened up a book he'd snatched off the shelves and started reading. He silently wondered just how long it would be before she noticed him.

As it turned out, Ginny's book was quite enthralling and she didn't notice him. She probably wouldn't have if he hadn't asked her to borrow a quill. (Yes, he still had Tracey's but he was getting impatient.)

"Oh, yeah, sure," Ginny muttered but didn't turn away from her book. She reached down into her bag with her right hand and simply handed him a quill.

"Wonderful," Draco replied calmly and took the green quill from her. 

The quill made some sort of squeaking noise and pricked him badly before hopping away and standing itself up on the table. It was obviously enchanted somehow. The quill seemed to study Draco for a moment—rather impressive feat considering it didn't have eyes with which to study him—and then started drawing frantically on a sheet of parchment.

Draco stared at the blank piece of parchment. He'd just planned on writing 'Look to your right Weasel' on it, but the quill had begun to do something far more interesting.

When the quill had finished it fell over and Malfoy picked up the paper. He stared at it for a moment before he realized what it had done. It had just diagramed the possible outcomes that could happen when Ginny noticed him:

Outcome 'A' was quite simple. Ginny looks up. Ginny drops her book. Ginny draws her wand. Ginny manages to throw him out the window with a spell.

Outcome 'B' was less comforting. Ginny looks up. Ginny drops her book. _'You must be broken'_—the quill had written above the first picture just to mock Ginny's former doubt—Hell Freezes over. Ginny and Draco start snogging like the bad romance novel Ginny was reading.

Draco scoffed and leaned over to Ginny.

"I wonder," Draco started in his standard drawl and Ginny straightened up. "Does your stationary _normally_ draw pictures of you making out? Or am I just a special exception?"

"You!" Ginny dropped her book and nearly fell out of her chair for the second time in one day.

"Sorry, my name is pronounced 'Dra-co' not 'You.'" Draco smirked and leaned forward just a bit.

"What do you want?" Ginny narrowed her eyes at him but his smirk simply grew more prevalent.

"I want many things," Draco answered haughtily and refused to let Ginny sit up without becoming uncomfortably close to him. "But currently I'm here to find out just what you've got planned."

"Planned?" Ginny asked sheepishly and stared back into his grey eyes.

"Don't play with me," Draco commanded in a light tone. "I've seen the real you." He announced and Ginny's expression fell.

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" Ginny asked angrily and glared at him.

"Because I can easily change that one simple question into blackmail." Draco answered simply and Ginny laughed. "I could just **inform** a few of the teachers about your little act."

"I doubt even Snape would believe you!" Ginny said, just a bit to loudly, and they heard a sharp 'SHH' from the direction of Madam Pince's desk.

"Oh really?" Draco asked and frowned at her.

"Yes, really." Ginny snapped back at him and pushed him away so she could sit up without him literally breathing down her neck. 

"You may think you're good—."

"You must be joking Malfoy," Ginny laughed while she spoke. "I **know** I'm good. You, my brothers, and a few unnamed associates are the only ones who know I'm faking—and I doubt any of you could pick out when I'm faking and when I'm not."

"Feeling particularly arrogant today, Weasley?" Draco asked and suppressed his anger.

"Yes, I am feeling particularly Malfoy-ish." Ginny spoke with a modicum of distaste in her voice. But, rather than getting angry like she expected him to, Draco laughed. It was quite a snide, and maniacal laugh at that.

"It's not going to work." Draco told her flatly and she stared at him.

"What, pray-tell, isn't going to work?" She asked him and tried to resist the urge to show him her best right-hook.

"I'm not going to let you out of this date."

Ginny's eyes widened and she took on the same shocked and mildly frightened look she'd been wearing when he'd spotted her on the stairs trying to flee. He could tell she wasn't quite paying attention to reality any longer. She was trying to figure out how he knew and how she could manage to take control of the situation. Draco took the opportunity to further confuse her, though he didn't know why he chose to do what he did.

Draco leaned forward, put his arm around her back, pulled her forward, and kissed her.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                Ginny was absolutely thrown for a loop. 

                First off, he'd informed her that he'd figured her out. Secondly, he'd told her that her plot wouldn't force him to release her from the date. Lastly, he'd gone and kissed her intentionally.

                The shock of the first two factors wore off rather quickly but she still had trouble with the third. Sure, she'd been kissed by boys that she didn't like before. Normally she just shoved them away and shot them a dirty look, but it wasn't that easy this time.

                She could have pushed him away if he hadn't been such a good kisser. Scratch that. Draco Malfoy wasn't a _good_ kisser.

                He was a superb, wonderful, shockingly masterful kisser.  

                Ginny had no idea that kissing Malfoy could have been like _this_, after all the first time they had 'kissed' it had been accidental, this almost seemed planned. 

                Draco had his arm wrapped around her back and his other hand on the side of her head.  She could feel the warmth and weight of his robes (in fact she was having a hard time thinking of anything else). His lips were firm and almost felt like they were burning her. His tongue, well—one can imagine.

                Ginny was absolutely petrified—just as Draco had predicted she'd be.  Her brain was going to overload soon. 

                Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Draco pulled away from her and smirked. Ginny's eyes fluttered open and she sat staring at him. He leaned back in his chair and was just about to unleash some biting comment when Ginny did something that not only broke character but also short-circuited her brain. 

                She was quite incapable of coherent thought for a while.

                "Malfoy!" She gasped for air and grinned devilishly. 

Ginny reached out at him and grabbed his tie ruthlessly. She pulled him forward with swift motion and pressed her lips on his. Ginny kissed him like a girl possessed, she tightened her grip on his tie and practically pulled him down on top of her, her other hand wrapped up around his head and rested on his neck, and her tongue…yet again—one can imagine. 

Draco's mind reeled just as Ginny's had. His mind lapsed into short circuit much sooner than Ginny's had however. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss back furiously. There was almost no telling where all this would lead: death, dismemberment, or perhaps something more…sinister? Luckily—if it could be called lucky—they were interrupted.

"Ah! My eyes!" Fred shouted and fell back into George.

They stopped kissing and Ginny shoved Draco away instantly. She quickly ran her hand over her hair, and glared at the twins who'd just interrupted the best make out session she'd ever had.

"She's given him the kiss-of-death!" George stared in disbelief and shook Fred ruthlessly.

"Hold on…." Fred stopped trying to claw his eyes out and frowned. "I don't think that was quite right Forge…."

"You don't mean that this git was just kissing out sister of his own free will?" George meant that to sound threatening but regretted it almost the same moment he said it.

"**_What?_**" Ginny asked darkly and both the twins backed up.

"Um…." George tried to think of a response that _wouldn't_ make matters worse but there wasn't one.

"I take it you two **know** what will happen if you tell Mum and Dad about this?" Ginny asked and leaned forward and started drumming her fingers on the table menacingly. The twins' self-preservation instincts abruptly overrode their big-brother instincts. They turned and basically ran out of the Library.

"Virginia Weasley," Draco said sounding positively smug. "Who would have ever thought?"

Most girls would have slapped him just because of his tone of voice. However Ginny, being both confused and angry, simply responded to Draco as she'd wanted to just a while earlier. She balled up her right fist, swung it around, and gave him a quick introduction to her right-hook.

Malfoy was thrown off balance. He fell back onto the table, slipped as he tried to regain his footing, and tumbled off onto the ground. He didn't get a chance to retaliate though. Ginny let out a frustrated growl, shot him a very dirty look, and stalked off with her bag and bad romance novel—which she promptly disposed of. (Darn book had caused more lapses in judgment….)

Draco stood up and muttered something angrily as he watched her leave. 

He'd expected her to be shocked when he kissed her but she'd taken him off guard by kissing him. Malfoy's were never taken off guard. At first he'd been smug that he'd had that much effect over her, however that cocky attitude was quickly tossed aside when her fist connected with his left eye. Now he was simply livid. Her enraged growl had obviously meant she'd had a momentary slip in judgment and she really only kissed him because he was good at it.

Yet somehow the fact that she'd basically admitted he was a good kisser didn't cheer him any.

"Interesting…." Blaise commented in a sort of blasé tone as she walked up the isle between the bookcases. 

"Bugger," Draco grumbled under his breath and ran his fingers through him hair in an attempt to straighten it.

"Well, it looked like you were having fun Malfoy." Blaise sat down at the table in the exact seat Ginny had been in just a while ago.

"What do _you_ want Zabini?" Draco eyed her and she smirked.

"I could ask you that very same question." Blaise sent him an all-knowing look. "After all, even you were never that…_frisky_ with any girl."

"Malfoys are not _frisky_." Draco replied stonily.

"They are when Weasley women are involved." Blaise looked like she was suppressing a laugh. Draco suddenly wondered just what Ginny and him kissing might have looked like from the 'outside'.

"Your subtlety wears on my nerves Blaise. What are you hinting at?" Draco asked and leaned against the table. 

"I think she might be good for you, Draco." Blaise emphasized his first name. "Keep you on your toes as it were."

"A moment, if you would." Draco stared at her with a flat expression. "Just how many things are wrong with this statement Blaise? Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor head of the Potter fan-club, is good for Draco, still a Slytherin, Malfoy."

"Aside from your questionable grammar?" Blaise eyed him and rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter Malfoy." She emphasized his last name as a way of mocking him and stood up. She picked her things up off the table, along with a green quill, and walked up to him.

"You might want to see Pomfrey about that eye." She smiled, malevolently, and shoved the quill into his hands. Then she just walked away and left the library.

She didn't explain why she'd handed him the quill. She didn't have to. It was Ginny's enchanted quill that she'd left behind. What had she called it… 'Home Stenographer?' 

Draco just stared at the ugly green quill for a moment and then snapped back to reality. He'd better go do something about his eye, lest he be forced to explain the massive bruising that was already making itself apparent. 

**Author's Notes:** I wonder if that kissing scene was a bit lame…. Oh well.

No worries folks, this isn't going to suddenly veer out-of-character and set up a mushy romance bit. (Not that I don't like the occasional mushy romance bit.) If anything the fighting is going to escalate.

The next portion ought to be quite fun.

But I must ask—

Question the first: Should I involve the teachers?

Question the second: Any song recommendations that you'd like to see in chapter? 

Question the third: Do I really have to continue to post this disclaimer? 

**No, not Rowling.  **

P.S.: Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. I never thought I'd have to many…I'm floored, honestly.


	10. Tally Marks

                Tally Marks

"That must be it." Ginny muttered flatly and flopped down on her bed. 

                "What?" Linda Rhey, one of the four other girls that bunked in the same room as Ginny, looked up from her book and stared at the dejected and slightly miffed redhead.

                "Hell's gone and frozen over." Ginny stared up at the canopy up above her four-poster bed and sighed.

                "Right," Linda replied cautiously and walked out of the room. "I'll just leave you to your own devices…." She said quickly and walked down towards the common room.

                Ginny lay on her bed for a while, contemplating the ramifications of purgatory having been plunged into the sub-zero, before she started to work the situation out. Even when she carefully mapped out the whole dilemma in her head it still confused her. She decided, since there was no one else in the room, to say it aloud in hopes that the words would materialize and give her an answer.

                "Malfoy tricks me and forces me into going with him to the Yule Ball." 

                Ginny made a metal tally that she earned the right for '1' revenge. (That is assuming Revenge can be divided up thusly.)

                "I turned his hair blue."

                Ginny mentally marked down one on Malfoy's side.

                "We start dueling in the hall and get caught by the teachers."

                Neither side gets blamed.

                "We get detention and he ends up preventing my backside meeting with a particularly nasty looking pile of rusted scrap."

                Ginny cursed quietly and made a note that she 'owed him one'.

                "I spread vicious rumors about him in an attempt to get 'let off the hook'."

                Another mark denoting that Malfoy could take out his revenge on her and she'd deserve it. He was ahead two to one and she owed him. This wasn't going well.

                "Malfoy runs around, hexes or curses every one of my working players that he can get his hands on."

                Mark one for Ginny. 

"After a dangerously random chase we end up kissing."

                Once more, neither side can be wholly blamed.

                "He eavesdrops and learns that my family pride forbids me to dump him." 

                Mark one more for Ginny making the current score: Malfoy two, Ginny three and she owed him one. They were dead even.

                "He then uses this knowledge and kisses me, but I kissed him in my daze so it's inadmissible." Ginny grumbled.

                "I punch him."

                One more for Malfoy, putting him in the lead.

                "Dang." Ginny let out an exasperated sigh and sat up on her bed. "I suppose this is one of those situations that I should consult the handbook over…." 

                Ginny stood up and walked around the perimeter of the bed to her trunk, which rested at the foot of aforementioned piece of furniture. She opened the heavy lid of the trunk and began riffling through her stuff until she reached her books. She tossed her spare romance novels and textbooks aside and finally came to the book she was looking for.

                It was paperback, brightly colored with a very tacky design and looked very much like a piece of uninteresting trash. The fact that it had the title (_"One Hundred and One Fun Things to do With Your Pet Flobberworm" _By Frank D'Abignale) emblazoned on the cover in a font that looked so spiraled and fancy it probably would have blended in with some of Professor Trelawney's personal library of the unreadable and uninteresting.

                Ginny flipped the book open to the first chapter and skimmed past the actual suggestions of things to do with flobberworms. She turned onto page fourty-two and there was a second table of contents.

                "Let's see…Indirect ploys…no…embezzlement…no…blackmail…no…Ah! Here we are!" Ginny stopped and smiled as she read through the summary of the section that would cover what she needed. She quickly flipped past the chapters of flobberworm suggestion and finally reached her hidden chapter about ploys. It took a while to find exactly what she needed but it was there.

                "What should I do oh' Frank?" Ginny asked in a stuffy voice, obviously mocking Cho. Ginny read over what the handbook recommended she do in this sort of situation, did a double take, and blinked.

                "You're kidding…." Ginny spoke aloud and waited, as if she expected Frank D'Abignale to appear in front of her and laugh. "I'm supposed to wait for him to make the next move?" Ginny looked down at the book again and confirmed it.

                When a stalemate is reached and you find that you're more in competition with the mark than anything else you should wait for the mark to make the next move, then, depending on how severe their move was, employ one of the following tactics.

_                Reverse Psychology. Do nothing and be frighteningly nice, it tends to make them very paranoid._

_                Near Misses. Set up a series of traps to go off as he passes them, but make sure each and every one of them misses. _

                Ginny stopped reading there, mainly because the rest of the list was on another page and she'd have to go find it. She put the book down, let out a heavy sigh, and wondered just how credible their 'fabled leader' was. Ginny was about to sit back down on her bed and contemplate when one of the girls who shared a room with her knocked and came in.

                "Ginny! Dear! Friend! Compadre! Buddy!"

                One of the other girls that shared a room with Ginny, Cassandra Sisenta—a popular girl who managed to blend in with the rest of the popular people in the limelight (strange that), walked in with a smile on her face. 

                "What are you trying to get out of me?" Ginny asked and eyed her suspiciously. She rarely even talked to Ginny  (unless you count 'Can I borrow a quill?', 'Don't you just loathe that Snape?' and 'How does my hair look?' as conversation), let alone came bursting in practically dripping with friendly warmth.

                "Why nothing, dear, sweet, compassionate, understanding Ginny—." Cassandra sat down on the foot of Ginny's bed and beamed at her.

                "Cut to the chase please, I'm not in the mood." Ginny cut her off flatly and Cassandra's expression went from absolutely sociable to dead serious.

                "Look, I already asked Linda and the others. They told me whatever but warned me about you." Cassandra started and Ginny looked at the clock as a hint. "I need the room, just for about twenty minutes or so."

                "Why?" Ginny asked and cocked an eyebrow. After all, Ginny had perfectly justified sulking to do. In response Cassandra cleared her throat and held up a small pink bracelet that had been broken off her wrist.

                "Don't tell me that's one of those _snogging-bracelet-things_," Ginny said in monotone and Cassandra nodded.

                "Dean just…um…knocked it off," Cassandra ventured but Ginny wasn't buying it. 

                Ginny just rolled her eyes, snatched her bag, and stood up. It was a well-known fact that Cassandra had been after Dean for a while, but Dean—being male—had hardly noticed. Apparently she'd gone the less subtle route and simply managed to break a bracelet on him.

                "Fine," Ginny groaned and walked over to the door. "Far be it for me to stand between true lust!"

                "You're a doll." Cassandra commented sarcastically but smiled as Ginny left.

                Ginny walked down the stairs and into the Gryffindor common room. It was reasonably full, but everyone was studying. She walked past the couch and knocked Dean with her bag. 

                "Your lady-caller awaits oh Lord Thomas," Ginny whispered with a flourish.

                "What?" Dean asked and stared at her like she'd gone nutters.

                "Cassandra. Room. Up there. Now." Ginny spelled it out and he practically went running up the stairs. Ginny just rolled her eyes and walked out of the portrait hole. Perhaps watching Quidditch practice would be enough to calm her down.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

                "Quit fidgeting!" Tracey commanded and went back to casting the make up charms that would save Draco from having to explain his massive shiner. "It's very difficult to combine anti-swelling, coloration, **and** waterproofing spells at the same time!"

                In truth is wasn't the fact that he was having the aforementioned spells cast on him that made him a bit wary (though that fact didn't _help_ any), it was the close proximity to Tracey Davis. She was scary enough from ten feet away, now she had her hand actually—physically—touching Draco's head and her wand only inches from his face. 

                This situation would make anyone just a tad jumpy.

                "Finished," She said (well…it was more of a hiss, but then again it wasn't hissing _for her_) and tucked her wand away. She took a step back from Draco and it felt as though a great icy shadow had receded from his heart. (That feeling could have been attributed to the frigid sink that was digging into his back though.) 

                Draco leaned forward and glanced at himself in the bathroom mirror. There was still a ghost of the great black, blue, and purple bruise left but it was hardly noticeable. Tracey Davis was good at concealing, good enough that one almost wondered what she naturally looked like…almost.

                "Regrettably a minute remnant of the affliction still mars your features," Tracey began and took another step back as Draco stood up. "This is, most likely, due to the fact that your complexion is comparable to that of a glowworm." 

                "Insinuating something Davis?" Draco asked and eyed her as he tried to work out the kink that had formed in his back. Sitting on a small vanity stool and having the frigid sink of the girls' restroom digging into his back was not his idea of fun. (Well, not that **alone**.)

                "Not at all." Tracey smirked. "Personally I wish my own skin would fall so pale, but alas it is never to be." 

Draco looked at her strangely but she didn't elaborate. After a moment of silence Draco picked up his bag, and inclined his head to Tracey. She understood it as 'thank-you', because, after all the Slytherin need to be able to communicate silently. It was mandatory and helped maintain their level of psychotic creepy superiority. After thanking her he simply turned and left the bathroom, luckily—for him—he managed to avoid walking straight into Ginny Weasley by nearly fifteen seconds.

                Draco halted and stared at the back of Ginny Weasley for a moment before he decided on a course of action. He couldn't let her see him exiting the girls' restroom; she might catch on to the fact that he'd had help covering up the aftereffects of her right hook. Instead of risking _that_ he simply turned silently and started walking, swiftly, in the opposite direction.

                He'd barely made it around the corner before he was stopped. Luckily—again for him—Ginny was out of earshot.

                "What do we have here?" Draco couldn't tell either of the Weasley twins apart so he was at a loss to which one was speaking.

                Both of the Weasley twins, Fred and George, were standing shoulder-to-shoulder and towering (slightly) over Malfoy. Which was quite a feat considering that they were only a few inches taller than him. They were both wearing the same malicious sort of smile that they normally reserved for special occasions. But then again, this **was** a special occasion. 

                "I do believe we have the pale blonde git who was snogging our little Ginny." The other one, whichever twin he was, answered.

                "Wonderful," Draco drawled and looked at them both with an expression of severe distaste. "Do I simply _attract_ **every single** freak and Weasley on campus?"

                "Freaks yes," the first twin said and grinned.

                "Weasleys just enjoy exacting revenge." The other added.

                "As if I hadn't noticed." Draco sneered and eyed them both.

                "Oh, he's being polite Gred." The first one, who was apparently George, turned to the other and frowned.

                "And us without our bats Feorge." Fred shook his head and they turned their full attention back to Draco.

                "Just what in the world do you two want, aside from good looks, money, and respect?" Draco asked them flatly yet they both continued to grin.

                "We just need to have a bit of a…oh what's the term?" Fred started and George cut in.

                "Chat." George supplied.

                "Ah yes, that's it. We need to have a bit of a _chat_ with you." Fred answered Draco's question and the twins grins suddenly turned quite malevolent.

**Author's Notes:**  "Wow, chapter ten. This is almost deserving of something special. Perhaps a little song and dance number boys?"

                Draco, and Terence eye Isis suspiciously and then go back to what they were doing.

                "Oh come on, please?" 

                They start laughing at the very concept of dancing for this muggle psychopath's entertainment.

                "She can't be serious." Draco scoffed.

                "If she wanted a carnival attraction she should have gone to those Weasley brothers." Terence added and smirked.

                "Why did I ask the bloody Slytherins?" Isis puts her hand to her forehead and addresses the readers. "Sorry folks. No song and dance spectacular this chapter. Maybe I can convince an A.D.A.D.A. student to help me next time…."

                "You know, Anthony is usually available." Ginny, who magically appeared out of nowhere, recommended.

                "Really? I'll check up on 'im then."

And thus ends the Author's notes that somehow became the lamest Omake ever. Celebrate for the disclaimer has been banished! 

**Whoot.**


	11. Quidditch Practice

                Quidditch Practice

                Apparently the word _'chat,'_ in Weasley, translates into _'feed the Malfoy to a set of irate Wolverines'._

                Draco learned this only a few moments ago and was now fleeing for his life. He wheeled around a corner and practically shoved down a pair of third years as he cut them off and dove through the doors. 

                "What's his problem?" One of the third years turned to the other and asked. The other just shrugged and pushed the door open.

                The two were once more forced out of the way by a pack of infuriated wolverines, the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, and a small group of onlookers who'd joined in chasing after them merely for the excitement of it.

                "Shall we follow?" The other third year asked the first and the first smiled.

                "Absolutely."

                And the two took off running after the group.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

                Just a stones throw across campus; Ginny was watching her brother practice for Quidditch team tryouts. He wanted to become the new keeper so he was having Harry toss the Quaffle and see if he could stop it. Ginny had been calmed down slightly when she arrived but watching Ron and Harry toss the Quaffle to each other for fifteen minutes wore thin on her patience. 

                "What **are** you two doing?" Ginny blurted out and they both shot confused looks at her. 

                "We're practicing Ginny," Ron said in a sort of important voice and Ginny stared at him.

                "You're having Harry toss you the ball Ron. That isn't practice." Ginny stated and Ron frowned at her.

                "Yes it is," He argued and Ginny eyed him.

                "So the Slytherin chasers are just going to toss the ball to you," Ginny said flatly and Ron stared at her.

                "She has a point," Harry agreed, Ron grumbled, and Ginny beamed.

                "You think you could do any better?" Ron shouted down at Ginny and she stood up.

                Much to the surprise of both the airborne boys Ginny simply walked away, leaving her bag back in her seat. They looked at one another for a moment and then heard a reasonable commotion over by the shed where the brooms were stored. They looked up only to see Ginny walking back with one of the school brooms in her hands and a smug look on her face. She moved out onto the field and got on her broom. She took off quickly and pulled up next to Harry with a smile.

                "Err…would you like to try Ginny?" Harry asked and handed Ginny the Quaffle. Ginny took it readily and looked over at Ron.

                "Bring it on baby sister." Ron challenged and put his hands out in a sort of stance that looked more like a muggle soccer goalie than a Quidditch keeper. Ginny just snickered, shook her head, and took a deep breath. 

                What ever Ron had expected, he didn't get it. Ginny swung her arm back and lobbed the ball straight at his head with as much force as she could muster. Ron dove down out of the path of the Quaffle and it shot through the goal ring. Ron gave his sister an incredulous look, but she just smiled.

                "What are you trying to do?" Ron asked, aghast. "Take my head off with that?"

                "What's going on here?" Alicia Spinnet, the recently promoted Gryffindor Quidditch team captain, asked as she flew up on her broom with the Quaffle under her right arm.

                "I was just practicing…" Ron said lamely and glared at Ginny.

                "Did you throw that?" Katie Bell asked while rubbing her forehead and flew up next to Alicia.

                "No…well…it was Ginny!" Ron stumbled through his words and pointed at Ginny. Unfortunately Katie, Alicia, and Angelina had been preparing for practice when Ginny's throw nailed Katie in the forehead.

                "Really?" Angelina asked as she brought her broom to a halt next to Harry.

                "Show me." Alicia tossed the Quaffle to Ginny and watched her as she caught it.

                "Um, alright." Ginny figured it was a command but she was willing to ignore that fact.

                The three chasers moved back and watched, with mild amusement, as Ron took up his position in front of the goals. He had a pained and slightly frightened expression on his face as he held his hands up to block. Ginny snickered and pulled her arm back again. She threw the ball harshly in yet another display of her ability to lob large, heavy objects at male heads. Ron pulled his broom away sharply as the large red ball zipped past him with speed that rivaled a school broom on a good day.

                "Could you please stop trying to decapitate me Ginny!" Ron asked and Ginny just shrugged.

                "Well it's your fault for being in the way." Ginny ignored the fact that Ron was trying to become the player whose job **was** to be in the way. 

                "That was brilliant!" Alicia announced and everyone looked over at her. "How would you like to be a chaser?" Alicia flew over towards Ginny and grinned.

                "Don't you already _have_ three chasers?" Ginny asked and stared at Alicia like she was mad. Ginny loved Quidditch, and she loved throwing things at guys; she didn't think she could combine them and still keep up her ploy.

                "Yeah, but Katie was just saying how she'd like to be the Keeper if we didn't find anyone." Angelina cut in and Ron stared at them with a crushed expression.

                "But I was going to try out." Ron said but was ignored.

                "You've all gone daft." Ginny shook her head and flew down to land. Alicia and the other two girls followed her down and tried to convince her.

                "You've got an arm!" Katie pleaded and rubbed her forehead.

                "Come on, don't you want to see the game from the inside?" Angelina tried but Ginny just ignored them.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                As Ginny was trying to get out of actually playing Quidditch, Draco was entering the pitch in a _'last ditch'_ effort to escape the pack of infuriated animals and the excited mob chasing after him. Draco wasn't really paying attention to where he was running, or who was around him, or surely he wouldn't have done what he'd done.

                Somewhere in Malfoy's panicked brain the image before him got divided. What he physically saw and what he _saw_ were two different things. What was physically there was Ginny Weasley, on a broom, hovering a foot off the ground, and talking with three other people on brooms (whom were currently landing). What he _saw_ was some girl, on a broom which he could easily jump onto and take (thus solving every one of his fleeing problems). 

                "I can't play Quidditch—." Ginny argued, and would have made it through her sentence had she not been pushed over the front end of the broom. She wasn't even given time to recover because then the broom took off.

                No one was really sure **how** it happened exactly but when Malfoy had taken off with Ginny's broom he'd taken off with her still attached to it. Her necktie, it seems, had been hooked onto the broom and had caught itself on the twigs. Now, rather than just ripping off as most normal articles of clothing would have, Ginny's tie had held true and was now trying to strangle her as she flew along behind the stolen broom.    

                "I've made it!" Malfoy shouted triumphantly as he flew over the Quidditch field as fast as the broom would carry him. "I've escaped those beastly Weasleys!" He laughed and fell silent. He could have sworn he heard one of those Weasleys….

                "I'm going to kill you!"

                Draco felt something grab his leg and he nearly yelped. He instantly looked down and paled considerably as he saw what exactly _it_ was. It was Ginny Weasley, hanging from the broom with one hand gripping his pant leg and the other holding onto her tie in an attempt to keep it from twisting and causing her to pass out from lack of air.

                "You!" Draco shouted and Ginny's fingers wound around his ankle. "Oh Merlin!" Draco stared at Ginny in horror and she growled.

                "You!" She snarled back though she didn't sound quite as surprised as Draco was. She tightened her grip around his ankle and, against her better judgment, looked down. She paled considerably and looked back up at the shocked blonde. "What are you waiting for?" She shrieked and snapped Draco back to reality. "Land already!"

                "Are you kidding?" Draco asked dumbly, all he could imagine was the pack of wolverines.

                "Of course not!" Ginny sounded absolutely terrified but she had good reason for this. Her tie was no longer strangling her as it had finally given way and left her hanging on to Draco's ankle for dear life. Ginny stared at him and watched, as he seemed to ponder whether to land or not.

                "You stupid sod!" Ginny shouted and used what strength she had to swing her arm up and grab Draco's collar. "I can't bloody believe you'd let me fall!" She screeched and tried to asphyxiate him with his own tie as hers had been doing to her only a few moments earlier.

                "You're choking me!" He complained as he lurched forward and the broom ride became considerably more turbulent. 

                "What do you want me to do? Let go?" Ginny asked in a shaky voice and Draco looked down at her. 

                Now on normal occasions Draco would take solace and enjoyment out of watching people wearing an expression as terrified and angry as Ginny's was now, however this was _not_ a normal situation. Draco turned away from her and looked down below—they were passing directly over the astronomy tower. He moved the broom down quickly and Ginny shouted.

                "Don't you knock me off Malfoy!"

                "Shut up Weasley! I'm trying to land!" Draco snapped back at her and slowed his decent. 

                After a while of dangling in the air Ginny's feet contacted with the stone that made up the terrace of the astronomy tower. She looked around and could have kissed the ground beneath her, however, instead of rejoicing she took the opportunity to yell at Draco.

                "What is wrong with you?" Ginny shrieked and Draco looked up at her as he dismounted the broom. 

                "Honestly, setting yourself up for a fall aren't you?" Draco asked and Ginny narrowed her eyes.

                "You…!" Ginny growled and put her hands to her head. "I was just going to leave you alone! Perhaps then we could just go to the Yule Ball and then never speak to each other ever again! But **no**! You have to go and pull what ever in the name of Merlin it was you just pulled!

                "You had one up on me, I would have forgiven and overlooked the stealing of the broom—even the ripping of my tie, but you—you dragged me up into the air by a thread! Then you contemplate letting me fall! The only other person who ever came **that** close to killing me was Tom _Let's-Hide-In-a-Diary-For-Fun_ Riddle!" Ginny looked like she was going to start tearing her hair out.

                Draco would have probably been able to come back with some witty insult but Ginny moved directly into his face and finished her rant.

                "You are going to leave me alone! This castle now has an invisible line painted right down the center of it! Weasley over here, Malfoy over there! You understand?" Ginny didn't give him time to answer. "Good!" Ginny growled, shoved him to the side, and stalked off.

                "Women!" Draco sighed.

                "Poor Draco, I never thought I'd see the day." Blaise, whom had been seated in a very well hidden spot, commented.

                "Great." Draco rolled his eyes but Blaise didn't get up.

                "The day Draco Malfoy…oh what's the term…got **told**." Blaise emphasized her words in a way that made her sound quite a bit like Pansy.

                "Oh bug off." Draco grumbled and stalked down the stairs. He was so preoccupied with the Ginny Weasley fiasco that he had forgotten all about the wolverines. 

                Today was not turning out to be his day.

**Author's Notes:**  

"Now, for the review bribery!" Isis said chipper-ly as she pulled back the red curtains and revealed the two Slytherin boys dressed in black suits for the dance number. 

                "Release me this instant Muggle!" Draco snarled and tried desperately to move his hands but was unable.

                "Honestly! We're in Slytherin, you can't do this to us!" Terence…well, whined, and gritted his teeth.

                Draco and Terence continued to shout and yell at Isis who started making hand-signals to someone up above the stage curtain.

                "Good work Harry, just pull that wire and Draco's left hand goes up—There you go! No Ron, you may not punch Draco through Terence. Nor kick him!" Hermione shouted up as she walked out on stage with Anthony Goldstein.  

                "Why did you let those two work the wires?" Ginny walked up beside Isis and stared up at the sinisterly euphoric pair of boys that had the puppeteer-ing wires to 'work' Draco and Terence on stage.

                "Because the only other options I had were Fred and George." Isis answered simply and hopped back off the stage into the front row. "Places people! Strike up the music!" Isis motioned to Bill Weasley and he struck up the band.

                "Ready? Go!" Isis flopped back in a chair and the dance extravaganza began.

                At first everything was spotless, perfect, top-notch—then things went downhill. Ron couldn't resist using his control over Terence and making the boy punch Draco. When he'd done it he'd knocked Harry and Harry had dropped Draco's wires. Ginny couldn't jump on Draco before he'd drawn his wand and shot out the catwalk supports with some strange hex. Ron and Harry had landed right on Hermione and Anthony then Terence had his wand out in a flash and was throwing curses left and right. A stray curse hit the band and the whole room went **'to hell in a hand-basket'**.

                "Folks, we're experiencing some technical difficulties!" Isis shouted over the madness from her spot under the chair. "Please try again next time—."

                "There she is!" Draco shouted as Isis was pulled up out from under her chair by the collar of her shirt.

                "Oh…hello Mr. Malfoy, sir." Isis laughed nervously and stared at the angry expression on Lucius Malfoy's face. "Goodnight everyone—the next extravaganza will, hopefully, be less painful." 

And lo, Isis was dragged off to suffer the fate of many a D/G fanwriter. The next chapter should come to you from the Hospital Wing.

_Read—_

Apologies to Cassandra Sisenta for her lack of liking in the character with her name. Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers and my absolutely resplendent Beta.


	12. A Touch of Liquor, Preferably

A Touch of Liquor, Preferably  

                "Uhh…." 

                Draco rose the next morning, half of him covered in bandages—provided by Madam Pomfrey—the other half screaming for more painkillers. The fact that Fred and George Weasley had both received enough detention to earn them the prestigious position of 'Worst Trouble Makers in the History of Hogwarts' was hardly any solace to the aching Slytherin. Wolverines in general were quite mean and apparently that last group particularly liked the taste of aristocrats. His current physical pain, however, wasn't the nastiest of it all. He had this strange twisting nausea near his stomach and this odd sensation that made him feel as if he was weighted down. 

                Quite strange all of that.

                Draco rolled out of bed and put on his robes sluggishly, he turned to leave for breakfast—He would have killed for a nice cup of tea—and both his cronies Crabbe and Goyle lumbered after him. Draco had just, miraculously, managed to slink down the stairs into the common room when he was stopped by the sudden shouting of two of his housemates.

                "Blimey! He's been possessed!" Abram Montague shouted and stared at Draco, wide-eyed.

                "Worse!" Terence cried and the two rushed up the stairs to cut Draco off before he could get down through the common room. The two took Draco by his arms and dragged him back up into his room leaving Crabbe and Goyle staring dumbly and wondering what they should do.

                "What is wrong with you two?" Draco asked in an irritated tone of voice and the two boys eyed him.

                "Abram, watch the door—I'll deal with Malfoy," Terence said calmly and Abram went outside to make sure no one got in.

                "You'll what with **me**?" Draco was getting more irritated by the moment but still he couldn't get rid of that semi-sick feeling that had permeated into every part of him.    

                "What's wrong with you? You look positively…" Terence paused and looked Draco over, "Guilty."

                "What?" Draco asked, taken aback slightly. He hadn't checked in the mirror to see what he looked like, he usually didn't need to. He was always spot on gorgeous—be he in robes, bandages, or down to only his knickers.

                "Look," Terence said with a note of urgency and moved Draco over in front of the wall-mounted mirror. 

                Draco stared at himself for a moment and thought that—surely—this had to be a joke. Malfoy's weren't ever supposed to wear _that_ expression. He looked generally run down, shoulders slumped slightly, spine not fully straightened up for intimidation, hair without its normal luster, eyes soft with hints of sleeplessness, and an actual expression on his face. He didn't just look guilty; he was **the poster boy of guilt**.

                "It's true!" 

                Both the boys spun around to see Blaise and Tracey standing in the doorway next to the fallen (and decidedly unconscious) Abram. The two awe-struck girls filed into the room and shut the door behind themselves. They then moved over to Draco and stared at his face with wonder—as if they'd never seen it before and had just noticed a diamond the size of a baseball resting on his brow.

                "I never would have thought," Tracey commented and stared at Draco's haggard appearance with more than mild interest. 

                "You're guilty about what you did to her yesterday…." Blaise had always been the sharpest of the Slytherin, she figured it out even before Draco.

                "No! Never!" Draco snapped back and tried to straighten himself out in the mirror.

                "Oh Merlin…" Terence said and sat down in a chair with an exasperated sigh. "You've let her consume your thoughts to the point that…that…."

                "That he's not only gotten used to the girl but he's starting to like her." Tracey said with an all-knowing look and Blaise nodded.

                "You've all lost your minds," Draco said forcefully and finished correcting his appearance in the mirror. He'd done a pretty good job but the emotion that was apparent on the outside was now eating at him from the inside at twice the force.

                "True, but we've not lost our hearts yet," Blaise said with a smirk. "I hope Virginia enjoys yours. Dusty and underused as it may be."

                Draco just sneered at her and swooped out of the room in the most imposing fashion he could manage after being told that he looked like a man possessed over Ginny Weasley. He passed Crabbe and Goyle, ordered them forward, and stalked to the Great Hall. Even though he was now miffed, in pain, and apparently very guilty about nearly killing Ginny Weasley, a cup of tea sounded grand. 

                If a shot of vodka happened to make its way into that tea then so be it.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "Ginny are you alright?" Colin eyed the redhead and tapped her shoulder when he got no response. "Don't you want breakfast?"

                "Alright, Colin, a cup of tea would be nice," Ginny said uneasily. She knew that his puppy-dog eyes were just an act but still she couldn't resist.  She got up sluggishly and the exuberantly happy Colin dragged her down to the Great Hall. He practically threw the doors open and waltzed over to the Gryffindor house table. He sat Ginny down and quickly made her up a cup of tea so she didn't try to accost him for his previous audacity.

                "Cream?" Colin asked as he added in a lump of sugar.

                "Bailey's," Ginny muttered under her breath and Colin blinked.

                "I'm just going to assume you said 'yes,' rather than what I think you said." Colin poured a bit of cream into Ginny's tea and handed the cup to her.

                "Thanks Colin," Ginny said quietly and took a sip of her tea.

                "What's up with you Ginny?" Colin asked and examined her as he took a drink of his juice.

                "Do you honestly want to know Colin, or are you just asking out of polite concern?" Ginny looked up at her friend with an expression that combined a series of emotions into a look that screamed and ranted _'I've got some serious issues today.'_

                "Polite concern," Colin answered swiftly and turned away. One should never ask someone with **that** look to explain their day—it was oft bad for the listener's health. Ginny just stared at him for a moment; groaned, and let her head fall down onto the table with a dull thud.

                "Ginny what's wrong?" Hermione sat down across from the redhead and asked her sympathetically. Ginny muttered something and Hermione's brow furrowed.

                "Do you honestly want to know, or are you asking out of polite concern?" Colin supplied the translation and Hermione looked a bit put off. 

                "I really want to know." She lied and sealed her fate. Ginny muttered something and Colin was forced to act as the permanent translator.

                "No you don't." Colin retorted politely and took a healthy drink of his juice.

                "Yes I do!" Hermione insisted and Ginny lifted up her head to look over at the brunette. "God Ginny, what happened? You look like something the cat dragged in."

                "Dragged in, chewed up, and spit out is more like it." Ron added and sat down next to Hermione.

                "Yikes." Harry added his two cents to the conversation and Ginny just let her head fall back onto the table.

                Ginny muttered something under her breath and the trio shared confused glances before turning to Colin.

                "I think she said _I'm mad._" Colin looked down at Ginny and was nearly knocked back out of his chair as she sat up abruptly.

                "I said," Ginny growled at Colin—apparently she wasn't amused by this whole series of events—and put her hand to her forehead, "I'm going mad!" She shouted and everyone in the hall seemed to glance at her. Someone snickered and then the moment was officially over. With that, Ginny simply left her tea at the breakfast table and walked out of the Great Hall. 

                Ginny needed to find a house elf and harass them into giving her some alcohol. Honestly, how was a girl supposed to deal with these sorts of things without the aid of hard liquor? Maybe the thrill of torturing something could supplement…but she didn't have anyone that she was currently disinterested in enough to merit that. She was going to go mad soon, all these events and emotions.

                She probably would have lost it right there in the Great Hall had she known the person who snickered in the silence was one Draco Malfoy.

                Ginny walked into the Transfiguration class—her first period—an hour before even McGonagall would show up. She sat down in her seat and started to run things through in her mind. When her mind was a bit too boggled by this whole situation she rooted through her bag and removed the essentials. 

                _"One Hundred and One Fun Things to do With Your Pet Flobberworm" _By Frank D'Abignale,

                One notebook filled with blank paper,

                One little muggle trinket (A stress ball, or at least it claimed to be),

                And one _Home Stenographer_…Scratch that. 

                "Where's my quill?" Ginny asked the air (the air didn't know either) as she rooted through her bag. She stared at her bag in horror, gritted her teeth, and sat back in her seat with a scowl on that would have probably spooked a pack of Death Eaters (or at least convinced them to offer her a job among their ranks). "Malfoy has my expensive quill." Ginny muttered darkly and then froze. 

                She used that quill to write in her journal. (After one is practically absorbed by an evil book they tend not to enjoy writing in them personally any longer.) If Draco just asked that quill a simple question it would probably transcribe an exact copy of half of her Journal. 

                "I knew I should have put a locking spell on that thing!" Ginny jumped up out of her seat and did the one thing she never thought she'd do again. She went actively searching for Draco Malfoy. Little did she know that Draco had every intention of avoiding her for as long as he could manage.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                Draco's day had started out questionably enough, but once he'd gotten slightly inebriated (due to his morning tea) everything started to look up.  He'd surprised himself when he laughed at Ginny Weasley's outburst in the Great Hall.  The laughing part hadn't been what surprised him; it was the fact that the twisting feeling in his gut got considerably worse after he'd done it. To make matters increasingly worse, it now seemed that Ginny Weasley was trying her damndest to hunt him down.  For what, he wasn't positive.

                Draco leaned forward and peered around a corner. He'd just barely escaped or skirted around Ginny a few times—he'd even been forced to skip out on Crabbe and Goyle (The twits knew nothing of stealth.)—and he wasn't going to give up avoiding her now. Draco noted the distinct lack of psychotic female redhead and quickly swept down the hall.  He was doing quite well until he was practically clotheslined by a mop handle and knocked back on his bum.

                "What do you know Gred? I found 'im again!" 

                Draco stared up at the Weasley twins with a look of mild fright. This expression didn't last long because it was soon ruined as Draco started to laugh.

                Before him stood, chained together quite _un_-magically and wearing bright orange jumpsuits that made them look quite like muggle prisoners, were Fred and George Weasley. They were both brandishing long (and by the looks of it, old) mops, buckets full of mucky water, and various sizes of scrub brushes. They had been scrubbing the hall that joined into the hall Draco had just basically ran down as part of their **first** detention. (Only eighty-seven left to serve!)

                "I'll be buggered, you've found the cackling cretin." Fred Weasley leaned forward on his mop and stared at the fallen (and snickering) Malfoy.

                "Wonderful," Draco said, stood up, and smirked at the Weasley twins. "Sorry boys, can't be seen consorting with convicts."

                "Yet I hear you go to the Malfoy family reunions." Fred glanced at George and smirked.

                "Those aren't convicts, Gred, they prefer the term _villain_," George spoke in a snotty tone that was obviously meant to mock Draco.

                "Indeed." Draco said in monotone and would have started walking again had George's mot not lifted up to bar his way.

                "Just where are **you** going?" The twins asked in unison and Draco sneered at them.

                "Fred! George!" 

                The three boys froze and shared worried looks. Ginny was coming.

                "I really need your help finding that blasted quill-stealing Malfoy!"

                Fred and George dropped their mops, grabbed Draco and threw him into a shadowed alcove behind a suit of armor they'd just finished scrubbing. They hid him just in time—they had just thrown him behind the statuesque suit of arms when Ginny came stalking around the corner.

                "Have you two seen that blonde twit?" Ginny asked and Draco noted (nervously) just how close she sounded.

                "Blonde twit?" George asked.

                "We've not seen Lockhart since way back when. Why do you ask?" Fred covered and Draco could almost _hear_ Ginny glaring at them.

               "You two are useless!" Ginny growled and Draco heard her stalk off. He didn't dare come out from his hiding space though.

                "She's gone." One of the twins whispered to Draco.

                "You'd better run for it while you have the chance!" The other one added as Draco climbed out from behind the armor.

                "Why in the wizarding world are **you two** helping **me**?" Draco stared at them and was shocked that the rumor he'd heard while eavesdropping was correct.

                "We were on the bad end of that once before…" Fred said mournfully and George cut in.

                "Wouldn't wish it on anyone. Even you."

                "Do you two have any advice?" Draco couldn't believe he was asking _them_, and apparently neither could they. The two Weasleys shared a confused look and then nodded to Draco.

                "Get in her good books." George advised in a very sagely tone.

                "If it costs you every single knut in your bank account, every scrap of dignity you've got, or the admission of…" Fred paused and shuddered. "Being wrong. Then admit it! For the love of all that's good!" Fred took Malfoy by the shoulders and shook him to emphasize his point.

                "You two sure you haven't seen that quill-napper?" Ginny shouted and her voice sounded nearer than it should have, she was coming back.

                "Run!" They both said quietly and Malfoy took off at a swift jog. This was almost worse than being pursued by angry animals—after all, animals couldn't reason which way you'd be going, nor could they bribe other students into tracking you down for them, nor could they concoct an elaborate plan involving wards and echo charms. 

**Author's Notes:** Unfortunately…ow… I'm still sequestered off in the Hospital wing. How was _I_ to know that Molly Weasley didn't appreciate D/G…odd though that she inflicted more pain that Lucius. Oh well. The romance should pick up quite soon—don't worry, the insults and witty repartee won't disappear. 

A great many thanks to all of my Reviewers and My Resplendent Beta.


	13. The Trap

The Trap 

                 She'd set up an incredibly convoluted plot that, put simply, set up a series of wards and echo spells that would act like a trip-wire whenever they were crossed by anyone holding a _Home Stenographer Quill_ ™. Luckily for Ginny, she was the only person in the entire school who owned one, therefore it would be quite difficult to catch anyone **but Malfoy in her little _web_.  It had taken her every bit of spare time she possessed, from passing periods to authorized breaks, to set up the magical spider's web she'd designed. The final product was an impassible, invisible net of wards that would trap only the person they were looking for. **

                Snape and Filch would have killed for the plans to that one.

                Perhaps she'd sell Filch the plans once she was done with them….

                Ginny mused over this silently and sat on the floor of a corridor down in the dungeons, leaning against the wall, and waited for Dinner to be over with. Luckily for Ginny (yet again), she didn't have to wait very long—in fact it seemed Draco had gone and left the Great Hall with the idea of going to sleep and getting some good rest. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

                Ginny hadn't been in the Great Hall for Lunch **or** Dinner—even though she was female, she was still a Weasley, and anything important enough to make a _Weasley_ miss two meals in a row could only mean one thing. Bad news for a Malfoy.

                Draco had become considerably more, and more uncomfortable sitting in the Great Hall. He'd even started to suspect that every stray noise was, somehow, a trap that had been masterminded by the youngest Weasley. Finally, after Draco had snapped and accused Pansy of wearing a wire, he got up and left the Great Hall. He desperately needed some sleep before his paranoid delusions drove him insane.

                He supposed that the guilt didn't really help much either, but that was beside the point. Right?

                "Honestly, I'm developing emotions," Draco grumbled under his breath. "Too much time with Gryffindors, that must be it." Draco scoffed and turned the corner.

                The moment he turned the corner he realized something was dreadfully wrong. It didn't take him long to figure out _what_. The paper wards on the walls and the faint blue glow around either of the two stone statues that lines the entrance to the hallway gave it away.

                "I just walked into a trap." Draco froze; he didn't dare move for fear of setting the unknown menace off. Draco stood like that for nearly five minutes before he started to hear strange sounds. Was that…someone laughing?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                She couldn't take it anymore! He'd stood like that, one leg off the ground a few inches, his hands in his pockets, and his head bent forward slightly, for five minutes without moving. He looked like a Slytherin Flamingo! 

                Ginny broke out into a fit of laughter and had to steady herself on the wall to keep from tumbling over. Draco was so startled by this abrupt show that he spun around to see who it was—even though he knew subconsciously. Then it just got funnier.

                Draco set off the trap and was 'pulled' back as if he was one of those draw-string dolls. After being dragged down the hall by some unseen spell he was securely adhered to the wall by, yet another, curse. His face was so extraordinary that Ginny nearly passed out she was laughing so hard.

                He looked something between confused, startled, and angry. Hysterical it was.

"Funny Weasley!" Draco growled and glared at her. She was beginning to turn the same color as her hair due to the lack of oxygen getting to her head. Draco's shouting didn't do much—she, apparently, thought that it was **very** funny.

"Shut your trap and let me down you ruddy Weasley!" Draco snapped at her again and she calmed down slightly.

"All in due time," Ginny snickered and took a deep breath as she stood up, "Dear, dear Malfoy."

"What's wrong?" Draco sneered. "You couldn't even stay out of Malfoy Territory?"

"What?" Ginny blinked and she meandered over to him.

"You remember, line down the center of the castle and all that?" Draco smirked and Ginny looked a tad taken aback. She'd forgotten all about it—it was written across her face almost as clearly as it would have been if she'd just used a quill.

"Well…" Ginny paused but quickly recovered. "That's non-applicable."

                "Non-applicable?" Draco eyed her and was about to make a _smart_ comment when Ginny cut him off.

                "You have some of **my** personal property," Ginny stated flatly and Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Oh don't claim that you've no idea what I'm talking about. The only reason this worked is because you're carrying a _Home Stenographer™_ Quill." Ginny sent him a flat look and he just stared back at her.

                "Well?" Draco asked and Ginny continued to eye him.

                "Well, what?" 

                "Are you going to let me down so I can get it, or are you going to search me and take it?" Draco asked dryly. "I'd rather not hang up here until the Quill gains sentience and hops off to you on its own."

                Ginny looked and him and then pondered what to do next. She **could** let him down, but then they'd either get into a duel, he'd run, or—knowing the powers-that-be—they'd start kissing for no reason whatsoever. Then again, she **could** search him, but that wouldn't take care of the delicate issue that is her diary. If he'd figured out how to get the quill to transcribe it, he might not have the pages with him.

                "Weasley, though I am eternally captivated by the ambiance of the Dungeon, I would prefer to get down and go to sleep now." Draco drawled, and the words of the Weasley twins found their way into his mind. He was supposed to get in her good books, just how was he supposed to do that? Be…nice? 

                The very thought was appalling…though strangely not as stomach turning as he would have predicted. 

                "Alright," Draco paused and forced himself to use her first name, "Ginny, I'll give you your quill."

                His act of kindness was ignored, however, because Ginny was far too shocked that he'd called her that.

                "Don't call me Ginny." Ginny stated stonily and Draco let out a heavy sigh.

                "Alright, Virginia." Draco corrected himself, an act that he abhorred more than any other.

                "Only my Grandparents, and my Father ever call me that," Ginny said unenthusiastically.

                "Gin?" Draco tried and wondered just how he was supposed to get in her good books if he couldn't even use her first name.

                "You shorten my nickname into a type of liquor?" Ginny cocked an eyebrow and examined Draco suspiciously.

                "Really, then what would you **like** me to call you?" Draco was quite sure that had anyone in Slytherin heard this they would drop dead from the subsequent heart attack. 

                Ginny stared at Draco with something that looked like mildly panicked concern. Had he hit his head when he connected with the wall?

                "Well," Ginny wanted to demonstrate just how creepy this was for her, "**Draco**, if you insist on calling me something other than Weasley, I suppose Ginny is…alright." Ginny said through gritted teeth and wondered just what his angle was.

                "Ah, yes," Draco replied nonchalantly. He now knew why she'd given him that look—it was unnerving to have her say his name…not that it was particularly painful, just terribly alien. "Now, if you'll just let me down, Ginny, I'd be…happy…to give you your quill." Draco wasn't sure about the word 'happy,' but he used it anyway.

                "Very well…" Ginny spoke slowly and drew her wand cautiously, as if expecting something to jump out and eat her any moment. She cast the counter-curse and Draco slid down off the wall and landed on his feet.

                "Took you long enough—." Draco snarled and then paused as he realized that he'd probably ruin everything if he continued on. "Err…Thank you, Ginny."

                "Stop that." Ginny commanded and brandished her wand menacingly. 

                "Stop what, Ginny?" Draco asked in a pained voice and Ginny narrowed her eyes.

                "Stop using my name, it's disturbing, eerie, and downright unnerving."

                "Thank Merlin, I was getting sick of addressing you every sentence." Draco muttered and dusted off his robes. Apparently he hadn't even really realized that he'd said that aloud.

                "Swear to me you'll never do that again." Ginny pointed her wand straight at his head and he eyed it dispassionately.

                Draco didn't have a chance to respond for they were interrupted.

                "Miss Weasley!"

                Ginny paled as she heard Snape's voice directly behind her. Draco smirked and folded his arms across his chest.

                "What's this?" Snape asked and swooped up next to Ginny. "Having a repeat of the other day, Miss Weasley? Trying to injure my prize student?" Ginny had to resist the urge to scoff, if she gave in it would be quite detrimental to her health.

                "Um…" Ginny gulped and looked at Snape out of the corner of her eye. "No…?" 

                Snape smiled maliciously and looked down his nose at her, he looked like he was really going to enjoy punishing her.

                "Lying now, are we, Miss Weasley?" Snape's voice dripped with malevolent intent.

                "I was just—." Ginny tried to come up with a lame excuse, but Snape cut her off.

                "Detention. Tomorrow morning. Five. You're searching the school stores for ingredients." Snape commanded with a hint of triumph mingled with amusement in his voice. "Now I suggest you go get some sleep Miss Weasley. Tomorrow will be a long, long day." Snape smirked and stared icily at Ginny as she retreated from the dungeons.

**Author's Notes:** Sorry it took so long to come out with this chapter. I was plotting out well…the plot. I think I've managed to design the rest of the story so the delays shouldn't be very long for here on out. Thanks for you patience and inevitable (at least I hope it's inevitable) bribery.


	14. Detention, Gargoyles, and Quaffles

Detention, Gargoyles, and Quaffles

                "This is absolutely the **worst** detention ever!" Ginny shouted and ignored her own echo as her voice reverberated off the castle walls.

                Never before had Ginny, or any other Gryffindor since the days of the marauders, seen the school ingredient stores. Sure, Snape had his little closet full of ingredients and his personal stash of the rarest items he could get his clammy, bony hands on, but this was much different. Much more impressive.

                The school stores were like a set of catacombs, hidden down in what Snape had called 'the second basement.' There was a central chamber filled with bottles, tubes, vials, jars, jugs, boxes, and endless shelves filled with more ingredients and books on concocting than Ginny had ever seen in her entire life.  Along the circular walls of the main chamber there were five doors leading into smaller 'closets' and storage rooms. Ginny, amidst it all, seemed a very insignificant thing. All in all, the dark and ominous stores reminded her vaguely of the Chamber of Secrets—not that she'd comment on that aloud.

                But, of course, Snape wouldn't just _leave_ a Gryffindor (not to mention a Weasley at that) alone in such a monolithic storage facility alone. Snape had sent his best and brightest to look after her.

                Obscured from view, sitting at a desk that was leaned up against the north side of the circular wall, was one Draco Malfoy. Draco, though more than mildly amused at the situation remained silent and kept Ginny unaware of his presence. He was, after all, trying to get on her good side. Draco watched her with keen interest as she tried (in vain) to walk carefully through the sea of scattered containers without stepping on one or getting her robes dirty. Just before she made it to the first door she stepped on an arrant bottle and was thrown off her balance and into a stack of old, yellowed, papers. Once she struck the pile a great cloud of dust exploded forth from the tomes and sent her into a sneezing fit. 

                Draco was hard pressed not to laugh.

                "Bloody room!" Ginny shouted again and waved her hands in front of her face to try and clear the dust away. "When was the last time it was cleaned?" She asked aloud as she stood up and made her way towards the door again. This time, however, rather than walking carefully she **tromped** through the ingredients, kicking and shoving them out of the way with her foot.

                Ginny made her way to the door that Snape had pointed at when she'd asked where to look but when she tried to open it she was practically shocked out of her senses. Had she ever seen any old 'Disney' movies she would have gotten the joke, but her father had never been able to _successfully_ operate a V.C.R. The doorknob stretched out when she tried to pull it open and snapped back as she released it. The knob struck the door, causing a resounding thud to echo through the room, and then the gargoyle shaped doorknocker came alive.  

                _"What ho!"_ The gargoyle's eyes flew open and the ring that hung from its bottom fangs clinked against the door. _"Just who're you?"_

                It took Ginny a moment, but she gathered up the presence of mind to answer.

                "I'm the poor girl whose got to go in there and retrieve ingredients for that snake Snape." Ginny grumbled and the gargoyle gave her a strange look.

                "Who?" The gargoyle cocked an iron eyebrow (with a squeak).

                "Snape. The potions master…hey, what happened to your ominous accent?" Ginny paused and blinked at the door-mounted sculpture.

                "What? Oh!" The gargoyle shifted its ring nervously once and cleared its throat._ "I know not of this Snape."_

                "…Right…." Ginny stared at the creature with a flat look and just shook her head. "Let me in."

                _"No."_

                "What do you mean, _'no'_?" Ginny asked irritably and the gargoyle closed its eyes in a most superior manner.

                _"Not unless you know the password."_

                "Let me guess…is it _'Snoitop'_?" 

                "How'd you know!" The gargoyle looked more than a bit shocked. _"Erm…I mean…nay! You're incorrect!"_

                "Only an idiot would use potions spelled backwards as the password into the stores." Ginny rolled her eyes.

                "Idiot am I?" The gargoyle sounded vaguely American when it was pissed off and without its ominous accent.

                "Well, as much as it pains me to admit it, Snape's not **that** dull." Ginny shrugged and the gargoyle glared at her.

                "Don't say that!"

                Ginny whirled around as she heard the shout and Draco fell out of his chair from the shock. Alicia, Katie, and Angelina were standing, in full Quidditch regalia, at the door that led into the circular room from the hall outside.  

                "Honestly! Admitting that Snape isn't dim is the first step to liking the bloke." Katie added in—it had been Angelina who shouted.

                "What are you three doing here?" Ginny stared at them incredulously. "It's got to be five thirty in the morning for Merlin's sake."

                "Why we're here to get you!" Katie shouted and then laughed.

                "Get me?" Ginny looked more than a bit puzzled.

                "We'll explain in a moment, but first…." Alicia trailed off and looked around the room. "Where's Snape's little mole?"

                "I don't appreciate being referred to as a filthy tunneling rodent, Gryffindor." Draco stepped out from his hiding place and dusted off his robes.

                "You!" Ginny growled but before she could get in a jab Alicia waved him over.

                "We're taking Weasley over there." Alicia stated blankly as Draco stepped, disdainfully, over a set of boxes and walked over to her.

                "I think not," Draco scoffed, "Snape's got her searching for a list longer than my arm."

                "Sorry to disappoint your beloved Snape but we've got permission." Katie smirked and Draco cocked an eyebrow.

                "Really?" Draco drawled and crossed his arms over his chest.

                "Read it and weep." Alicia held out a piece of parchment and Draco took it from her in a method that could almost be described as snatching.

                "You've got the wrong Weasley." Draco sneered but made no move to hide his amusement. "The twin terrors are the only detention-serving students this will work on."

                "Oh no, we've got the right Weasley." Alicia crossed her arms over her chest in a manner most similar to Draco's. "McGonagall wrote, and I quote, _'All detention serving Gryffindor team members are to be immediately excused for all practices. Their detentions are to be rescheduled through the team captains.'_"

              "Didn't you hear?" Katie smiled eerily at Draco. "She's our new Chaser!"  
              Ginny, though fully omitted from the conversation, was listening with rapt attention as she made her way through the piles of junk on the ground and back towards the exit. She would have argued that she wasn't the new chaser, but she was preoccupied with two things that stopped her. First of all, Draco looked absolutely horrified that there was, yet another, Weasley on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And lastly, this would get her out of hours of wading through ingredients and arguing with door guardians.

                "I'm sure 'Snape will hear of this,'" Angelina mocked Draco (even though he hadn't spoken a word) as Ginny leapt over a set of bottles and joined the group.

                "Come now Ginny, we've got to get you a set of robes!" Katie announced cheerfully and clapped the redhead on the back. 

                The four girls left the dark hall with an air of superiority. Draco fumed for a moment, plotted for a few minutes, and smirked for a good thirty seconds after he'd finished contemplating his plan.  

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "Alright Ginny," Alicia shouted from her place on the ground. "Let's try another run, shall we?"

                Ginny nodded and caught the Quaffle as Alicia tossed it up to her. Though they'd used underhanded methods to get her on the team, Ginny had to admit it was reasonably fun. She'd gotten a pair of brand new Quidditch robes that fit her perfectly and she got to ride one of the new team brooms rather than just one of the old school brooms.

                "Time to **run the gauntlet** little sister!" Fred shouted and waved his bat in the air. 

                "We'll try not to scare you too bad!" George added with a hint of smug pride in his voice that made him sound remarkably like Draco.

                Ginny smiled devilishly and stared down the field. This practice was all about training the new members…and she was the only new member. She (had already and) was going to have to fly from the set of goal hoops that normally belonged to Gryffindor, through the set of 'enemy chasers' (as played by Alicia and Angelina), and score a goal while Katie played keeper—and all the while manage not to get knocked out of the sky as her brothers lobbed bludgers in her direction. On the plus side, if she did get knocked off her broom it was Harry's job to swoop down and catch her before she became one with the ground.

                Fun.

                "Ready, go!" Alicia shouted as she flew up and stopped next to Angelina.

                Ginny pushed her broom forward and tried, with some difficultly, to keep the vehicle from wavering and flinging her about. Ginny was grand at throwing things, but not quite as skilled at flying. Her flailing about did serve a purpose, however. She managed to duck, dodge, and swerve through Fred and George's entire onslaught. 

                "Got you now!" Angelina shouted as she snatched at Ginny. Fortunately Ginny was very adept with Quaffles (as most anyone who saw her fighting with Draco would agree). 

                Ginny turned her broom and, inadvertently, flipped it over leaving her flying upside-down. Both Alicia and Angelina, apparently, though that this was a deliberate move and looked quite impressed. Ginny didn't notice their expressions though; she was nearing the spot she was supposed to shoot from.  

                Ginny twisted the broom handle, and therefore swung herself back up atop the broom rather than hanging below it as she had been. She drew her arm back behind her back, reeled her broom to a halt with the other hand, and flung the red Quaffle with all the might she possessed. Katie moved to catch it, but when her hand contacted the red sphere it was unprepared for the amount of force, which pushed it back, and the ball shot through the hoop.

                "Way to go Ginny!" Harry cheered as he pulled up beside Ginny on his Firebolt.

                "Grand flying there!" Angelina complimented and slowed her broom to a halt next to Harry.

                "You alright Katie?" Alicia called as she moved up past Ginny.

                "Ow." Katie replied and slowly urged her broom over to them with her good hand. "Let me see your arm Weasley." Katie requested flatly and gave Ginny a suspicious look. Of course, both Fred and George held out their arms and flexed what muscles they could.

                "Why?" Ginny asked cautiously but held out her right arm anyway.

                "How in the world?" Katie stared at Ginny's arm and then frowned.

                "What is it?" Alicia asked and eyed Katie.

                "That Quaffle she threw was like catching a bludger," Katie said with a bit of amazement in her voice. She held up her right hand and motioned to the long thin bones that made up the back of her hand. "Broke four bones!"

                "What!" Ginny shouted rather than asked. She was more astounded by this than anyone else on the team (and the rest of them were pretty, darned astounded).

                "I'd hate to see what you do to a Slytherin!" Katie smiled at Ginny (the expression was nice though mildly pained). "Ow. I'm off to Pomfrey." Katie grumbled as she landed her broom.

**Author's Notes:**  Ah cliffhangers. The writer's friend and the reader's foe. Via a few reader's requests I will, however, give you a bit of a treat.

                "So recently released from the hospital and you pull something like this?" Ginny asked and shot Isis a very exasperated look.

                "First rule in entertainment dear Ginny," Isis smirked and drummed her fingers in a most Mr. Burns like fashion. "Give the viewers what they want."

                "And on the up side," Blaise interrupted before Ginny had the opportunity to get a word in edgewise. "Draco doesn't seem to mind quite as much as any of the others."

                "Out of curiosity," Hermione shared a look with Ginny and then tapped Isis on the shoulder. "Just why did you include Ron and Harry?"

                "I can't discriminate." Isis answered simply and the four girls looked back at the stage.

                The once red yet now very, very black curtains pull aside to reveal three of Hogwarts finest young men clad in black leather outfits (on loan from E.I.B.L) that looked quite reminiscent of Arrowsmith. On the far right, upstage, was one Harry Potter—who looked distinctly uncomfortable with his current outfit. On the far left, upstage, was his buddy Ron Weasley—who was blushing a brilliant crimson and trying not to make eye contact with either Hermione or Ginny.  Center, downstage, was one Draco Malfoy—who **knew** just how brilliant he looked in his tight leather pants and was smirking in his most sinister fashion.

                "Potter." Draco snickered and glanced back at the nervous Harry. "Weasley." He snickered again and looked back at Ron. "You two are hopeless. Goody-two-shoes. You've **got** to be sinister and evil to pull off a look like this." Draco scoffed at the two hopeless heroes and looked down at the group of girls in the front row. 

                "I promised you'd see Harry and Ron embarrassed." Isis commented and Draco sighed. 

                "Very well, muggle, a deal is a deal." Draco snapped his fingers and music started playing. (No one could figure out where the band was hiding—but they were determined to stay hex-free this time.)

                _"Please allow me to introduce myself—"_

                "Hold it!" Isis shouted and cut the singing Draco off.

                "What do you want now!" Draco rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

                "You can't sing 'Sympathy for the Devil'!" 

                "Why not?" Draco asked indignantly.

                "It's in one of the upcoming chapters!" Isis argued back and the scene was cut short. 

                The technical difficulties screen (with a picture of two dueling wizards in the background) appeared along with Ginny (via magical green-screen) to announce the apologies.

                "Isis and Draco are having **Artistic Differences**," Ginny coughed and the sound of spells being fired off in the background echoed through the hall. "Isis would like to thank all those of you who review, and her wonderful beta!" 


	15. It’s not like she’s yours

It's not like she's yours.

                "Back?" Tracey Davis asked as she looked up from her homework. "Already?" She cocked an eyebrow as she watched a mildly annoyed Draco walk into the practically empty Slytherin commons.

                "What happened?" Blaise, who appeared to be sitting with nothing to do, glanced over at Draco. "I know she couldn't have finished."

                "The blasted Gryffindor team found a loophole." Draco sat down on the couch and smirked.

                "Team?" Tracey eyed him.

                "So she's the new chaser." Blaise smiled—in a very Slytherin manner—as she snapped to what Draco meant. "They used the practice excuse."

                "Of course." Draco folded his arms over his chest and cocked an eyebrow as Blaise sat down next to him.

                "So what are you going to do about it?" She asked with a positively maleficent smile.

                "I'll tell you what I'm going to do," Draco said and Blaise nodded. "Absolutely nothing." Draco finished, unfolded his arms, and put them behind his head. Blaise and Tracey stared at him like his head had come loose.  
                "What about Snape?" Tracey cocked an eyebrow. "Surely he'll notice that her work wasn't finished and then force her to do something even nastier as a substitute. Was that your plan?"

                "No, it wasn't." Draco stated simply, with a smug smirk on his face. "And Snape won't notice."

                "Have you gone completely out of your gourd?" Blaise was tempted to check his temperature. This didn't sound like any Malfoy she'd ever heard of.

                "He won't notice because **I** finished the work for her." Draco spoke as if he was talking about the weather. Tracey and Blaise, however, were absolutely horrified. Draco Malfoy did not to favors for anyone…unless he had something to gain.

                "What do you get for it?" Tracey smiled maniacally and stared at Draco.

                "Ah, but I can't tell you everything unless there's something you can tell me." Draco closed his eyes as he sat back, confident in his own, unique, smarmy way.

                "Draco, selling out information for information?" Terence Higgs waltzed into the commons after a set of scheming third years, and leaned on the back of the couch. "I like that game. What's up for trade?"

                "The reasoning behind Draco's decision to **help** the Weasley girl by finishing her detention for her." Tracey muttered and went back to her homework.

                "Really?" Terence grinned sinisterly. "Well this Weasley dilemma is getting better by the minute!" Terence pondered for a moment and then glanced over at Blaise. "Hey, didn't you say that Weasley had a _Home Stenographer Quill™_?"

                "Yes I did." Blaise looked up at Terence from her place on the couch and his grin grew. 

                "What color is it?"

                "I don't see how that is even vaguely relevant to the current situation," Blaise shot him a dry look as she spoke, "but it was green."

                "Well then." Terence looked over at the disinterested Draco and his grin turned into a mischievous smirk.  "I wonder if you, my dear Malfoy, would like to know how to extract information from such a trinket."

                At this, Draco opened his eyes and lifted an eyebrow.

                "I'm listening." Draco stated and Terence stood up.

                "Oh, but we have to do these sorts of exchanges in private—where are your black market manners?"

                "Very well then, let us step into my office." Draco stood up from the couch and the two walked over towards the boy's dorms.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "I'm so sorry." Ginny repeated sounding more than a tad distraught.

                "For the twenty-second—." Katie started and shook her head, but Angelina interrupted.

                "Twenty-third."

                "Thank you." Katie nodded at Angelina and turned back towards the apologetic Ginny. "For the twenty-third time, it's alright!"

                "But I **have** to do something to make it up to you." Ginny pleaded and Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat to note that the girls were being a bit too loud.

                "Just play in the first game against Slytherin." Katie smiled and Ginny nodded with a slightly uneasy expression.

                "Tomorrow?" Ginny asked. With her luck, it would be.

                "Oh Merlin no!" Katie laughed and waved her good hand. "The day after tomorrow! Tomorrow you'll be training all day with the team!"

                "Just like today." Angelina added.

                "Oh." Ginny nodded as Madam Pomfrey came around the corner, wand at the ready, to fix up Katie's hand.

                "Clear out girls!" Madam Pomfrey said as she shoed both Angelina and Ginny towards the door. "Honestly! All this meandering about, shouldn't you be off practicing for the Quidditch matches? Or at least in class?"

                Angelina tried to explain to Madam Pomfrey that Katie was the only other person they needed to 'train' but the older witch wouldn't listen and just tossed the two girls out of the Hospital Wing. Angelina and Ginny stood out in the hall for a few minutes and, when it became rather apparent that they wouldn't see Katie for a while, they started down the hall.

                "Before the next game, we need to work on your flying." Angelina remarked as they turned a corner and walked through the doors that led out to the front of the school. "And none of that fancy showboating, got me?" Angelina warned and Ginny stared. Ginny blinked dumbly once and then nodded.

                "I promise…no…showboating." Ginny replied as they approached the Quidditch field.

                Fred and George were practicing with their bats, Alicia was giving them instructions and Harry was in the stands talking to someone. Ginny looked up at Harry for a moment and paled when she saw who he was talking to. Cho Chang. She was chattering away in her most polite tone and Harry was trying to contain the blush spreading over his face. 

                Ginny watched them and moved in closer to get a grasp on what they were talking about.

                "Oh yeah, Ginny's our new chaser." Harry said quickly and Cho smiled. Harry nearly melted at that, but Cho's expression fell to neutral after a moment of beaming. 

                Harry had turned to putty in her hands. He'd tell her anything she wanted to know—if he knew it—and even if he didn't he'd probably either go find out or hazard a guess.

                "She's really good…" Harry mumbled and blushed. "But not as good as you!"

                Ginny pouted (he'd never made that face when talking to her), and silently wondered if Harry knew how hopeless he looked from the outside.

                "Well thank you Harry." Cho beamed at him and looked back at the two girls behind her. "I've got to go now, but I might be back later. Okay?" Cho obviously had no intention of returning but she gave him hope nonetheless. She started down the bleachers and cocked an eyebrow as she spotted Ginny all clad in Gryffindor team robes.

                "Cho." Ginny whispered and stared at the older girl.

                "Madam Cho." Cho replied and gave Ginny a look she'd only given her once before. The look that screamed _'remember who you're dealing with.'_ Ginny had the distinct feeling that it was a threat, especially considering that Cho hadn't referred to herself like a Chinese fortune teller since Ginny's second year when they'd snuck past dementors during a _show_.

                Cho walked off and left Ginny standing next to the bleachers. It didn't take long before Harry jarred her out of her uneasy thoughts by clapping his hand on her shoulder.

                "You know Cho?" Harry asked with a sort of dreamy smile and Ginny melted. Harry was cute even though she'd lessened in her pursuit of him lately—what with that blasted Malfoy.

                "Um…only a little." Ginny replied in a rather sweet and wistful tone. Someone behind the bleachers faked a gagging noise and Ginny turned. Ginny looked at the bleachers but she couldn't see more than the obscured black blur of robes through the stands as someone walked away swiftly.

                "Did you say something?" Harry blinked and looked at Ginny. He'd not even heard her answer…what with having **said** Cho's name and thus being pulled off on some strange mental tangent.

                "No, nothing Harry, let's get back to practice." Ginny shook her head and mounted her broom. She kicked off but she couldn't get over the feeling that someone was watching her and perhaps even laughing.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "Two words for you Malfoy: **Highway Robbery**." Terence argued with Draco as they came to the matter of what Terence would get for his information.

                "Please Higgs." Draco rolled his eyes. "We're hardly on a highway."

                "Sorry, I've a bit of a pension for the dramatic just as you have a love of the obvious." Terence ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against one of the trunks that had been placed at the end of one of the five beds in the room.

                "I'm sorry your sheer lack of skill when subtlety comes into play has inhibited us." Draco drawled and then sighed. "I'll recap. I want the detailed instructions and a weeks worth of Divination's homework out of you."

                "Come on now!" Terence grumbled. "All I'll get is your reasoning behind helping the Weasley with the nice backside."

                "Suave Terence." Draco muttered and shook his head. "But I know you'll trade for it."

                "How do you **know** this, Malfoy?" Terence asked and cocked an eyebrow.

                "Because you're the most curious and nosy male in all of Slytherin." Draco put it simply. "And even Zabini out there is dying to know."

                "And you are **that** sure that I'd pay **that** much just to know something she doesn't?" Terence asked with a hint of amusement.

                "Indeed." Draco replied shortly and smirked.

                "Damn." Terence sighed dejectedly, wrote a set of instructions down on a small piece of parchment, and handed them to Draco. "You're very perceptive."

                "I know." Draco, once more, replied shortly.

                "So?" Terence asked and grinned at Draco. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you help the Weasley girl out?"

                "If I left her continue later one of _you_ might have be awarded the job of watching after her whilst I was at practice." Draco stared at Terence dryly and Terence glared.

                "That can't be your reason." Terence stated flatly.

                "I'll give you the long and short of it once you've finished that Divination's essay." Draco smiled smugly and Terence rolled his eyes. "Now get to work." Draco clapped his hands and Terence trudged out of the room to get started on the rest of the deal.

                Draco sat down on the edge of his bed, pulled out a stack of parchment paper, and Ginny's quill that had fallen into his possession. He followed the instructions Terence had given him—write out the most likely password then write down 'diary, play' and the quill will start transcribing—and the quill began furiously writing out entry after entry of Virginia Weasley's _diary_. Draco watched the small thing write and smiled as it finished and dropped to the paper with a small thud. 

                "What to do now?" He asked rhetorically, in a tone lined with sarcastic cheer, as he stuck the quill in his robe pocket. "I think I'll go read these out in the calm of the Quidditch Pitch…If I happen to see some of the Gryffindor strategies as well…so be it."

                With that Draco walked out towards the field, parchment under his right arm, and a smirk plastered across his face. He arrived at the bleachers and walked down into the infrastructure where he could read and watch in peace. It was then that he caught Ginny chatting with a love struck Harry. They just happened to be a tad to close and cutesy for his comfort. Harry sighed lovingly and Ginny stumbled with her words. Malfoy was pushed over the edge.

                "I think I'm going to be sick!" Draco whispered harshly and faked a gagging noise, unfortunately it seemed Ginny had heard him. She turned and he quickly walked off out of her sight. He turned back to see her kicking off next to Potter and growled. He took a seat on one of the lower sets of beams which held up the bleachers and stadium in general, and sighed in a most frustrated manner.

                "That expression, bah!" Draco sat alone under the bleachers, a stack of parchment in his hands, and the _Home Stenographer Quill™_ in his pocket. Draco grumbled and fumed over that dreamily contented look on Ginny's face as she stood so near to Saint Potter. 

                "That bloody Harry Potter!" He continued to mutter angrily and the quill literally leapt from his pocket and scrawled on the top of the papers. Apparently **Harry Potter** was the password to activate the 'conversation' feature of the quill. What the quill wrote, however, confounded Draco for a very long time.

                **Why are you so mad? It's not like she's **_yours_**.**

                Rather than think even harder and give the quill an answer that hadn't been fueled by either denial or anger, Draco just shoved the stupid thing back in his pocket and watched the Gryffindor Team Practice. Draco watched the little players flying around up so high off the ground and tried not to snicker every time a bludger nearly hit Potter—which was quite often it seemed. As the Gryffindors took a break and started to head back to the school, Draco thought he might start reading the information the quill had written. He stared at the paper and, for some reason, couldn't bring himself to move past the last comment the quill had written.

                "She _is_ mine…." Draco felt oddly justified saying that, but he had to—ruefully—remind himself that it was only until the Yule Ball. 

**Author's Notes:**  Not only am I euphoric that we've surpassed 100 reviews, but I'm rueful over the fact that I've taken so long updating. I apologize. Only three more weeks until school is out and **then** I can write much more quickly. All these projects and finals are killing my fanfiction time. 

Enjoy—I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can.


	16. Power Balls and Butterbeer

Power Balls and Butterbeer

            "It's a lovely Saturday morning out, and the stands are alive with the sounds of cat calls!" Lee Jordan exclaimed into the microphone as the students of Hogwarts filed out towards the field, chattering with excitement. The announcements Lee made over the magically arranged p.a. system, however, just barely made it over the voices and shouting from the crowds. This was the first Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match of the year and, yes, these were always the best!

            "Now don't worry about going out in front of all those people, Ginny." Angelina clapped the thinner, shorter redhead on the back and Ginny stumbled forward a bit.

            "Right…." Ginny shot a strange glance at Angelina and then looked back out at the crowds. 

                  This was very risky, now she knew why Cho had been so 'ify' earlier. Cho was warning her, in a very backwards way mind-you, but warning her nonetheless. Cho's act was compatible with this sort of activity—the social butterfly could soak up any amount of limelight from any source and not seem strange in the least. Ginny's act was nearly the opposite of this sport! She was the shy, conservative girl…this sort of thing just didn't factor well. She was going to have to come up with an explanation, and quickly!

            "But then again…I do have that Weasley temper going for me." Ginny whispered softly to herself and smiled as she leaned on her broom. This was really going to take some quick thinking and a few well-placed actions but then again, if there was one person in all the world who could pull something like this off it was Virginia Weasley.

            "Let's go." Alicia tapped Ginny on the shoulder. "Time to take the field." 

            Ginny nodded and followed all the rest of the team out into the Pitch. She'd never seen a game from this point of view before, it was astonishing! So many students in the bleachers, the tower boxes filled with teachers and house leaders. Everyone was cheering as they walked out to the center of the field (somehow it seemed a good deal larger) towards Madam Hooch who already had the Quaffle in hand and was ready to begin.

            "Passed over for the Captain's position, aye Potter?" Malfoy jabbed at Harry and the two shared an icy glare.

            "Still working with a broom **that** slow Malfoy?" Harry shot back and the two glared. 

            "So you're the new girl." Ginny stared at the Slytherin beater who was standing in front of her. She didn't know his name, nor did she care. "I'll have to aim for that pretty little head. Bright red, almost like a target."

            "I wouldn't say that loud enough for my Brothers to hear you." Ginny smirked and the beater, despite himself, paled slightly as he remembered what they'd done to Malfoy for (what he'd heard was) far less.

            "Everyone on their brooms!" Madam Hooch shouted and everyone mounted their brooms. The Quidditch coach blew her whistle, the bludgers and snitch were released, everyone kicked off, and she threw the Quaffle into the air.

            Ginny angled her broom forward and swung it around in a maneuver she'd learned while trying to stop (she had dubbed it the 'hook-on-to-a-post-and-pray-your-arm-doesn't-break'). She snatched up the Quaffle in her right hand and sped off towards the Slytherin goals with Angelina and Alicia right behind her.

            "And Weasley has the Quaffle!"

            Ginny pulled to the right and swerved, sloppily, past the two Slytherin beaters. She dropped the Quaffle and it fell right into the waiting hands of Alicia Spinet who shot up from below and lobbed the ball into the goal to score a point.

            "Weasley passes to Spinet. Gryffindor Scores!"

            All three of the chasers pulled up and swerved back around as the Slytherin Keeper lobbed the ball to one of his teammates. The Slytherin chaser who'd caught it tried to pass the ball to one of his teammates—he lobbed it downwards to the waiting hands of the third chaser, but Angelina swooped down on them and grabbed the ball. She hurled it upward and Alicia snatched it out of the air. 

            "Bletchley to Pucey! Pucey to Warrington, intercepted by Johnson! Johnson to Spinet!"

            Alicia flew upward and hooked the ball through the hoop to the farthest right before the keeper even knew she was there.

            "Gryffindor Scores!"

            The scoring continued like this for about forty more points for the Gryffindor team and then another twenty for the Slytherin. After Angelina lobbed in the Quaffle that set the score sixty to twenty in favor of Gryffindor, Alicia called a 'time-out' and gathered the members of the team to her—all save Harry who was left up due to his lack of play in the lower levels of the game.

            "Something isn't right here." Alicia whispered to the other team members as she looked down and across the field at the hovering group of Slytherins. 

            "The Slytherin are never this lax." Angelina commented and everyone nodded in agreement.

            "See that." Alicia motioned to the 'new' Slytherin team. "They've only got one new member on the entire team and we've not seen 'em do anything yet."

            "They've just been sitting there the whole match." Angelina interjected and both Fred and George spoke up.

            "That's their new Chaser. Flint finally graduated—."

            "No idea how that could have happened, aye Gred?"

            "Right-o Feorge. Anyway, Flint was gone and Malfoy became captain." Fred continued. 

            "That new one there is their replacement chaser." George motioned to the new member of the Slytherin team.

            "Name's Nyx, don't know their first." Fred finished with a nod.

            "Not that it matters, but male or female?" Katie chimed in and leaned forward to try and get a better look at the new member.

            "No idea." Both Fred and George said in unison. 

            "Either really effeminate guy, or a reasonably masculine girl." Angelina established with a nod.

            "Well, I still don't like this." Alicia narrowed her eyes at the Slytherins and turned back to the team. "Listen, they've been watching our moves—they're going to try something." She pointed to Ginny. "We may not know what their new member can do but they don't know what ours is capable of either. If I give you a signal—(Alicia pointed both her index and middle finger at Ginny to illustrate the signal)—you take the Quaffle and use your power-ball on 'em."

            "Right." Ginny nodded and the group broke apart to continue play.

            Madam Hooch blew the whistle and tossed up the Quaffle, the game resumed where it had paused from a few minutes earlier. Ginny snatched the Quaffle out of the air as it fell and raced towards the Slytherin goals. She lobbed it into the air as she approached the goals but it was intercepted. Nyx, the new Slytherin player, shot up from underneath her, knocked her broom to the side (nearly throwing Ginny off it in the process), and grabbed the Quaffle before it had flown more than a meter.

            Ginny held onto her broom as it flipped over and, with a bit of effort, swung it back around so that she was seated atop it once more. Apparently the new player's skill was playing dirty—a real Slytherin virtue. Ginny leaned forward against her broom and chased after the Nyx. Nyx threw the ball and Alicia, in a very dangerous maneuver, flew down, snatched it out of the air, and lobbed it to Ginny with all her strength.

            "Weasley—intercepted by Nyx! Was that a foul? No? Nyx throws it—intercepted by Spinet! Spinet passes it to Weasley!"

            Ginny caught the ball and wheeled her broom around as quickly as she could manage but she locked handles with one of the Slytherin players. She moved forward and tried to shake them but her broom was nearly flipped over. The Slytherin player knocked Ginny off balance and she dropped the Quaffle down to one of their chasers below. The Slytherin chaser moved, tossed it to Nyx, and the Slytherin scored just before Hooch blew her whistle to halt the game. 

            "Weasley gets tangled with Derrick! Derrick pulls her off course! Foul! Blurting!" Lee paused. "Weasley drops the Quaffle to Warrington! Warrington to Nyx! Nyx scores! Foul! Come on!" 

            The game came to an abrupt halt and the students in the stands were livid—the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and most of the Ravenclaws because of the foul, and the Slytherins because they claimed all was fair in Quidditch. Madam Hooch flew up to the center of the field and all of the players save the seekers gathered around.

            "Ten points from Slytherin team for Blurting." She said flatly and the Slytherins glared. "Free shot for the Gryffindors." She finished and tossed the Quaffle to Ginny. She blew her whistle, moved out of the way, and both teams readied themselves for Ginny's shot. 

            Ginny flew up to the designated spot and stared at the goal rings ahead of her. She glanced back and Alicia gave her the signal. She picked one and flew forward as fast as she could manage. She reeled her broom to a halt when she reached her usual stopping distance and threw the Quaffle with the same strength and accuracy that she'd been elected to the team for. The red ball soared through the air and the Slytherin keeper lifted up his hands to catch it. It his both his hands squarely and slipped through his fingers as he'd not expected anywhere near the amount of force she used.

            Ginny sat up on her broom, having thankfully recovered quickly from using that much energy to fling a ball, and looked around. The Slytherin Keeper was staring down, misty eyed, at his hands. The Quaffle was in the stands just behind the Slytherin hoops, and the entirety of the Slytherin team looked almost as shocked as the Gryffindors did smug. 

            The game continued on after this but it was total madness. The Gryffindors would always pass to Ginny, the Keeper on the Slytherin team never tried too hard to catch it, and the beaters continually aimed for Ginny. Whenever the Slytherin had the Quaffle they would use every underhanded method they could dream up to snatch it and shoot it through the hoops. After Gryffindor had scored another fifty and Slytherin forty, they called a time out and gave the Gryffindors time to convene. 

            "Nice work Ginny." Angelina patted Ginny on the back and the team grinned. 

            "What do you 'reckon they're planning?" Alicia asked. (Nobody knew just **why** she'd said 'reckon.')

            "Probably trying to figure out how to get through Ginny's throws." Katie said with a sort of grim laugh. 

            "Keep it up little sister." Fred said and both he and George grinned.

            "I'll try." Ginny responded just as the Slytherin team ended their time out and the game began again.

            At first the Slytherin had the Quaffle. They passed it back and forth furiously to avoid the Gryffindor Chasers but when they moved to throw it Ginny flew up between them, stole the ball, and flew back towards the Slytherin goals. The Keeper cringed as Ginny pulled her broom to a halt and threw the ball at the center goal. It flew right past the Keeper and was about to enter the golden ring when Nyx flew through the center, grabbed the ball and took off up the field.

            "Warrington to Pucey! Pucey to Warrington! Warrington—Pucey—Warrington—Pucey—Warrington—Pucey aims! Intercepted by Weasley! Weasley takes it to the goal—it's in the air! Nyx flies through the center goal—is that legal?"

            Apparently there was nothing (yet) in the rules that forbade that, however it was sure to be amended soon after this match—before the professionals got wind of the loophole. Nyx took the ball out and scored another set for the Slytherin team. The Gryffindor team worked their hardest, but every time Ginny could get near enough to the goal to score Nyx would intercept. The Slytherin team scored another forty and Hooch nearly got them twice on blagging and four times on cobbing but they always seemed to correct their illegal maneuvers just before she caught notice enough to call a foul. The game progressed and the Slytherin team scored forty more points.

            The Quaffle was stolen by Alicia as Nyx tried to make a shot and she lobbed it to Angelina. Angelina took it out while Fred and George kept Nyx at bay across the field. Angelina threw it to Ginny who flew forward as fast as she could towards the Slytherin goals. Ginny, however, was suffering an extreme disadvantage over the crowd. The crowd had been listening to Lee Jordan call both the main plays and the seeker plays. Ginny had ignored everything Lee had said altogether and had absolutely no idea what was going on in the Seeker portion of the game.

            Needless to say this was unfortunate…however not for the Gryffindor team on whole.

            "Malfoy dives for the snitch first! Potter right behind him, will he catch up in time! Straight into the melee! Malfoy's hand is out—!"

            It happened all within a few seconds that seemed to last eternity.

            Ginny lobbed the ball with all the strength she possessed. She reeled her broom forwards and closed her eyes as the ball left her fingers. She'd never recalled throwing it that hard before and, strange, she didn't hear the sounds of Lee Jordan cheering for another Gryffindor score. She heard the crowd gasp and she opened her eyes. Harry zoomed past her—he was only about a foot away—and snatched the snitch. Ginny looked down and saw a dark Nimbus 2001…but there was no one on it. It took a split second for her eyes to focus to see him but a long while for her to realize what she'd done. 

            There was Malfoy, quite unconscious, falling towards the ground with the Quaffle a bit too near his head to be coincidence. Ginny paled and dove forward on her broom without a second thought—as did half the other players on the teams. She didn't make it in time but, thankfully, Madam Hooch had. 

            The game was called—Gryffindor won. Two hundred and seventy, Gryffindor, to one hundred and ten, Slytherin. Harry had caught the snitch—mainly due to Ginny knocking out Malfoy before he could catch it, and since the match had ended there was really no way to call a foul on it. Ginny just sat on her broom for a moment, shocked, and stared down at Malfoy who was being rushed off to the hospital wing.

            "Great throw Ginny!" Fred and George pulled up beside her as she landed and dismounted her broom. 

            "Good work!" 

            "Nice one!"

            "Wiped that smirk off his face the hard way, did you?"

            Ginny wasn't really sure who all was talking, she'd been pulled into the cheering crowd of Gryffindors and was being pulled back towards the castle with them. They arrived back in the common room and, somehow, the twins had acquired nearly a hundred bottles of butterbeer. They started passing it out and made a special effort to hand Ginny one with a flourish. She accepted it and sat down on one of the couches in the room. She took a drink out of it and suddenly felt very depressed.

            She wasn't sure why…but the butterbeer she was drinking tasted awful, the admiring looks she was getting from well…everyone were starting to make her very uncomfortable, and there was this terribly guilty knot forming in her stomach. She thought on it for a moment and despondently realized what she'd done. For all she could recall, Slytherin had never beaten the Gryffindor team in all hers or Harry's years at Hogwarts. She took the first victory against Gryffindor, in five years, away from Malfoy and his house. Though the thought of being in the first game when Gryffindor lost to them wasn't desirable, she still felt lousy about it. 

            This was probably due to the fact that they'd only won because of her horrid timing and a blatant foul that couldn't have been called due to circumstance.

            Ginny looked around at the jovial members of Gryffindor house, sighed, and stood up. No one noticed that she'd left except for the few boys that had been staring at her for nearly ten minutes. She capped her bottle of butterbeer, stuck it in her robes, and left the common room via the portrait hole. Even as the fat lady's portrait swung closed she could still hear the celebration going on inside. She took a deep breath and started walking down the rather deserted hall, towards the Hospital wing. 

            "Dammit Ginny," She chastised herself, "Why did you pick him and now to fall back into the shelf of regular human emotion."

            Ginny walked through the halls and only passed a few students. Most of everyone else was probably at lunch already. Perhaps that was a good thing though, no one would have to see her apologize to Malfoy. Ginny rounded the corner and saw Madam Pomfrey walking away from the Hospital Wing to go eat her lunch. 

            "Wonderful." Ginny sighed and walked up to the door. She paused for a moment, took another deep breath, and opened it.

            The Hospital Wing was utterly deserted. Only one bed had an occupant, Draco Malfoy, and the rest of them were perfectly made in that sort of eerie way that makes it uncomfortable to be in a hospital. Ginny walked into the room towards Draco and tried not to shuffle her feet—a habit common to Weasleys who are procrastinating.

            "I told you." Draco spoke up in his smooth drawl, though there was a hint of irritation in his voice. "I'm not going to lunch."

            "Then I suppose I'll have you all to myself…for a time." Ginny commented back dryly and Draco tried to sit up. His head was wrapped in bandages and tinted red, blue, and purple from the bruise the ball had given him. His hair was disheveled; a rare occurrence, and he looked a tad taken off guard.

            "Uh." Draco fell back after making it halfway upright, and groaned. "What do **you** want, Weasley?" Draco growled.

            "Good to see you in such a good mood." Ginny sighed and walked up to the side of his bed. "I'm here to apologize."

            "What?" Draco asked suspiciously and eyed her. 

            "I suppose since I did peg you with the Quaffle—" Draco scoffed. "Then I can repeat myself. But don't expect me to continue repeating everything I say." Ginny pulls up a chair from the wall and sat down. "I'm here to apologize for knocking you out before you won the game." 

            Draco just stared at her, blankly, for a few moments as he contemplated what was actually happening and whether or not it was a hallucination. A Weasley apologizing to a Malfoy. Ginny Weasley apologizing to Draco Malfoy. Ginny Weasley apologizing to Draco Malfoy for Gryffindor's win. 

            Ginny Weasley was apologizing to Draco Malfoy for knocking him out before **he** won the game against Gryffindor.

            To say the least Draco wasn't really certain how to react to this. He could be snide and mean, as per usual, but then he'd be ignoring the advice the Weasley Twins had given him. True they were despicable, but the two had known Ginny for far longer. Rather than actually respond, Draco just continued to watch her. He couldn't bring himself to say 'thank you' or 'you're forgiven.'

            "Well, here." Ginny reached into her robes and handed him her nearly untouched bottle of butterbeer. "I figure you probably deserve this more than I do." Ginny set the bottle down and stood up. "Later Mal—Draco."  Ginny caught herself last moment and called him by his first name, though it did sound a tad forced. She walked over to the door but Draco said something and she stopped.

            "Hey," he started off loudly and his voice slowly lost some of the irritation. "Even though I'm horribly distraught and all—," Ginny scoffed, "—and I'll probably be emotionally scarred for years to come…"

            "Get on with it." Ginny pouted with a tad of fake anger and Draco cut his sob story short.

            "I could get over my anguish and angst-filled hurdles a tad faster if you'd do me a favor." 

            "Oh no…" Ginny said and shook her head. "What?"

            "Ah, I ask for only a feeble favor and the girl who put me in the hospital refuses! So cruel! So heartless! So unconcerned for my well being!" Draco professed dramatically and Ginny cocked an eyebrow.

            "Fine, whatever. As long as it's not illegal, I'll do you a favor." Ginny added with a roll of her eyes and turned the doorknob. "Get some rest, Malfoy. I'm off to lunch."

            "Back to Malfoy is it?" Draco shouted as she walked out and she shook her head. 

**Author's Notes:** Ah I am quite sorry it has taken this long to get in a new chapter! Well now that school is over and most of my schedule cleared, look forward to more and faster. 

And for those of us who've not yet read Order of the Phoenix, no worries, there shall be no spoilers in this.

And a special thanks to all those who continue to review despite the author's near inability to post.


	17. Sympathy for the Devil

Sympathy for the Devil

                "Hey there Ginny!"

                "Um, hi." Ginny waved a little and watched as the enthusiastic boy—whom she didn't know—walked past her with something close to the star-struck look she used to give Harry. Ginny shook off the strange, foreboding feeling she was getting and continued on her way to lunch. 

                "Hey Ginny!" A boy who was standing amidst a group of boys waved at her and they all turned around.

                "Hey!"

                "Hello!"

                "How's it going?"

                "Um…hi." Ginny waved at them and shot them a weak smiled before increasing the speed at which she was walking. This was getting very unnerving.

                "Ginny." Ginny looked up and spotted a lone, and rather smug looking, Cho Chang. "I tried to warn you. Now you've got admirers." 

                "This is going to ruin my ploy, how do I make them go away." Ginny said quietly and Cho shook her head.

                "Not a way that I can think of." Cho admitted and clapped a hand onto Ginny's shoulder.

                "Can't I just ignore them?" Ginny asked as another group of clueless guys walked by with sloppy smiles plastered across their faces.

                "You can try, they'd probably just think you're too shy and humble to accept their affection." Cho smirked. "Here we are!" Cho announced as they stood before the doors that led into the Great Hall.

                "What?" Ginny asked and stared at the doors. All of a sudden she was filled with a sense of immense dread.

                "Have fun in there Ginny—girl." Cho clicked her tongue once and walked off with a smirk worthy of Draco Malfoy. 

                Ginny stared at the doors uneasily and finally walked through into the crowded Great Hall. At first no one noticed her and she let out a sigh of relief—Cho was just playing with her mind—but then someone at the Gryffindor table stood up and waved at her. It took a cumulative total of about five seconds for Ginny's hopes of eating a quiet lunch to crumble. The first second, boys turned around and looked at Dean who was waving at Ginny with a smile on his face, the second all of them looked at the door, the third they all started whispering to their buddies, the fourth a few more waved and the fifth they all just started watching her. This was very unnerving. Ginny was tempted to just turn around and run.

                What gave Ginny confidence enough to cross the room and sit down were the pained looks that Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were giving her as well. Rather than stand there being watched Ginny quickly walked over to the Gryffindor table (most likely propagating the 'shy' factor that Cho had spoken of) and sat down amidst the rest of the Quidditch team. 

                "Good work Dean." Angelina hissed at him and he blinked at her dumbly.

                "What?" He asked. Both Katie and Alicia grabbed him by the robes, sat him down, and gave him very stern looks. 

                "What in the world is going on here?" Ginny asked the three girls and they all looked at her uneasily.

                "It's all Creevey's fault." Katie muttered. 

                "What's all Creevey's fault?" Ginny asked and Angelina reached into her bag. Angelina pulled out what looked like—no what most definitely was—a calendar. She reached across the table and handed it to Ginny with a bit of a wince. Ginny paled considerably.

                The calendar, across the cover, read in big, bold, black letters as such:

                **                Creeveys' Calendars**

                **For The True Quidditch Fans In All Of Us**

**                A Whole Year's Worth of Quality Quidditch Moments!**

                Between the two lines of text there was a large, color, moving picture of Ginny from the first Quidditch practice the Gryffindor team had. She was flying upside-down with the Quaffle and above her were Angelina and Alicia looking quite shocked. 

                Ginny's jaw dropped slightly as she stared down at the picture. She opened up the calendar and her eyes widened. Not only were there large moving shots of the Gryffindor team (well the girls) on some of the months, but also there were small pictures of individual players next to each week. Ginny dropped the calendar and stared up at the other three pained girls.

                "How many?" Ginny asked without elaboration.

                "About two hundred. Dennis is working on an expanded edition…with our personal lives and information on us." Katie responded.

                "Ten galleons says we get mugged for autographs when we leave the Hall." Alicia muttered.

                "I don't take bets on sure things." Angelina added and all four of them slumped forward on the table—distraught.

                Lunch ended after a painfully long amount of time and the Great Hall slowly cleared out. Ginny contemplated leaping out the window to avoid the crowd of boys that would, most likely, jump Alicia, Katie, Angelina, and her when they left—but the cliffs were a deterrent. The older girls went first, a sort of shield, and Ginny followed after them. The moment they exited the doors, sure enough, there was a mob of guys with calendars and quills practically jumping all over them requesting signatures.

                "Angelina, sign here please!"

                "Alicia, can you make that out to Danny?"

                "This picture is better, can you sign there?"

                "Look, guys, there's Ginny!" 

                Ginny watched with pity as Alicia, Angelina, and Katie were swallowed into the crowd. Ginny tried to move along the wall towards the stairs, but she was caught as one boy noticed her flaming red hair. The mob moved to swallow her and she broke into a run. She threw open the door to the dungeons, ran down the stairs, and was pulled off her feet as she rounded a corner. She was pulled into a closet and the last two things she saw before the door snapped shut were the mob of boys that had been following her and a shining light down at the other end of the corridor.

                "What in the—Mphh!" Ginny tried to shout but a hand clamped over her mouth. 

                "**Lumos.**" The small broom closet was lit up by the white light and Ginny saw the reassuring face of the boy who'd rescued her from the pack.  Anthony Goldstein. 

                Anthony took his hand off her mouth, made a 'shh' motion, and went silent as the clattering of footsteps grew louder. A few boys asked quiet questions and the footsteps faded down the hall. They sounded like they'd traveled around the bend at the end of the hall but then there was a great, loud commotion. There were a few moments of near silence then the whistling of spells and a loud crack. The footsteps came running down the hall and up the stairs with a sort of panicked sound about them. Ginny and Anthony shared looks and opened the closet door.

                "What in the—?" Anthony whispered harshly and waved his hand in front of his face. The hall was flooded with smoke.

                "I don't know." Ginny coughed and the both of them walked up the stairs cautiously.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "I've got her confused…good job." Draco congratulated himself as Ginny left the Hospital Wing.  He sat back, pondering what to request of her when the door to the wing opened again. He didn't really have time to assume it was anyone in particular because they spoke up right away.

                "You look horrible, Draco dear." Tracey commented smoothly as she walked over to his bed. "Lucky."

                "What do you want from me today, Davis?" Draco asked flatly and glanced up at the black clad, palely made up girl. She was holding a rolled up stack op paper in her hand, and looked mildly amused.

                "Oh just here as the Devil's advocate."  Tracey sat down in the chair Ginny had been in, much to Draco's dismay, and handed him the rolled up stack of papers. "You might find this interesting." Tracey commented offhand and Draco unfurled the package.

                "Creeveys' Calendars?" Draco asked and cocked an eyebrow as he opened it up. At first he had no expression, but slowly something started to creep over him—his face didn't really change, but the air around him seemed to get darker and a tad heavier.

                "To make matters worse, Draco dear, the brothers Creevey have sold copies to nearly every male in school and they all intend on getting them signed—if not 'scoring dates' with the girls of their latent dreams." Tracey said as she examined her fingernails. 

                "Are they then?" Draco asked in a calm, dangerous tone that was, most definitely, acquired from his father.

                "I was just in the Great Hall, the chatter about that Weasley girl is astonishing." Tracey blew on her fingernails. "You'd think she was gilded." Draco was tempted to remark that she probably was, but he held his tongue. "If you've still got a tête-à-tête going with her you might want to take some action." Tracey looked up at him and could have sworn she saw a dangerous glint of jealousy in his eyes.

                "For once, Davis, I think I agree fully." Draco sat up and ignored the lightheaded sensation that came with it. Draco stood up; an act rather dramatically amplified by his swooshing over-robes, and cracked the knuckles in his hands ominously. "Cover for me." Draco commanded offhand know that, eventually, he'd have to repay her for distracting Pomfrey.

                "Right oh, darling." Tracey stood up and flopped down on Draco's hospital bed. She waved her wand in the air; cast a few charms, and the curtains magically slipped shut after Draco was out the door.

                "Weasley has admirers, aye?" Draco asked quietly and drew his wand as he crept through the empty halls cautiously. If anyone caught him up they might ask questions. 

                "What in the world?"  Draco turned to see a shocked and reasonably angered Fred and George clutching parts of what used to be a Creevey Calendar. 

                "I wouldn't think he'd be conscious yet." One of them commented (Fred, not that Draco could tell the difference).

                "I take it you've seen the Creevey brothers' creation." Draco said smoothly and locked eyes with the Weasley twins.

                "What are you planning?" They asked in unison and smirked.

                "Just a bit of an anonymous threat," Draco smirked as well, "Do you have any Smoking Snappers?" Fred and George shared a look and tuned back to him, maniacal grins in place.

                "Regular?" George asked.

                "Or twisted?" Fred added.

                "I'll leave it up to your preference." Draco finished and looked down the hall. "You two meet at the corner of the dungeon halls where the way splits—off to the left—I'll draw them near." Draco grinned and walked away from the malicious twins.

                Draco practically jogged down the hall, wand in hand, and bandages slipping from his head. He stopped as he reached the stairs, peered down to see of the coast was clear, and started down. He heard a good deal of commotion from behind the doors to the Great Hall and looked for a place to hide. If Pomfrey caught him he'd be toast. He jumped up, slid down the banister, and ducked into the doors that led down into the dungeons. He watched, through a crack in the door, as the girls on the Gryffindor team came out of the Great Hall, surrounded by a mob of lovesick admirers. Draco was tempted to wretch as he heard one of them go on about how wholesome and loving the girl in the middle (whom he'd obviously never met as she'd just clocked a guy and shouted at him) was.

                "Malfoy." Draco jumped a bit and turned to see Fred and George, engulfed in the shadows. The two of them resembled the Cheshire cat in that he could only really see the glint off their twisted smiles and the rather large arm-fulls of Smoking Snappers they were holding.

                "Down the hall, it shouldn't be long." Draco looked back out the door and jumped back into the shadows as he spotted Anthony Goldstein walking away from the group and towards the door. 

                The door creaked open and, being slightly unaware of everything—as Anthony was, Anthony started down the hall. Draco swung the door shut, and looked down the hall where Anthony was walking—fortunately it seemed the Hufflepuff didn't spot the blur of robes that was Fred and George as they rounded the corner in accordance to _the plan_. Draco heard a great deal of yelling as he was about to move to drag Anthony down the hall and the door to the dungeons was thrown open. Goldstein spun around and caught Ginny as she slammed into him. In one quick move he picked her up and pulled her into the closet. 

                Draco didn't have time to watch this as the mob was just behind. The plan had to start now if it was going to work. He leapt down the stairs and, with a wave of his wand, cast a dimly glowing image of Ginny Weasley in the air. Normally it wouldn't have fooled anyone, it was so far off base, but it was dark and these were hormonally driven teenage boys that had been chasing after their new 'unattainable beauty' so it worked like a charm (which it was ironically). Draco ran along the wall and was hardly noticed as he turned the corner and caused the image of Ginny Weasley to follow.

                "Now?" Fred and George, who were eagerly awaiting instructions as they stood with nearly forty Smoking Snappers, asked in unison.

                "Now." Draco said and the fake Ginny disappeared as she ran around the corner. A moment later the Smoking Snappers went off and the mob of boys turned the corner.  

                "What's going on?"

                "Where'd Ginny go?"

                "I can't breathe!" 

                The boys were plunged into confusion just long enough for Fred and George to move around to the back and prevent anyone who got the bright idea to flee. A few of them tried, in fact, but the screams they let out when they met up with the maleficent Fred and George discouraged the rest of them. They were all nearly shocked out of their wits when a dark shadow lifted out of the smog in front of them and stood, leaning against the wall. (Later on they'd recall they saw a pair of glowing red eyes…but that was just embellishment…we think.)

                "W-who are you?" One of the boys managed to stutter as he backed up.

                "Me?" Draco asked in a very raspy, threatening voice. "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste." Draco stared at them and a shaft of light from the windows managed to pierce the cloud of smoke around them. It cast a sort of eerie shadow over him that matched his mood and made everyone the jumpier.

                "I've been around for a long year, I was around when Saint Potter had his moments of doubt and pain. Made damn sure the Minister washed his hands and sealed his fate." Draco stood up and ran his hand back over his smoothed platinum blonde hair. "Pleased to meet you, hope you've guessed my name." He took a step forward and the light was at his back, putting him into an outlined darkness.

                "But what's confusing you is the nature of my game." Draco grabbed the closest boy by his collar and snatched the calendar that he'd intended to get signed by Ginny out of his hands. He looked at it and made sure that the boy got the idea before tossing it back to Fred and George. A few of the boys in the back moved towards the center of the group, uneasily. They were between a Malfoy and the Weasley twins—this was very bad for them.

                "Just as every cop's a criminal—." Draco started.

                "And all the sinners saints." Fred added, followed by George.

                "As heads is tails."

                "Just call me Lucifer, 'cause we're in need of some restraints." Draco finished and lifted the third year off the ground by his collar.

                "So if you meet me, have some courtesy, have some sympathy, and some taste." Draco eyed them all and they stared, wide-eyed, back at him. "Use all your well earned politesse or I'll lay your soul to waste." 

                Draco dropped the third year and looked up at Fred and George. The twins nodded and tossed up a few more Smoking Snappers that went off with a bang and left the whole hall in smoke. Draco ducked as a flurry of sparks rushed past him—he wasn't sure, but it seemed that the Weasley twins were now either hexing everyone in range or firing off fireworks—he wouldn't have put either past them. The mob shouted and ran back out towards the door as quickly as they could manage. Once they'd all filtered out, Draco turned and started down the hall. He could go up a flight of stairs near Snape's room and be back in the Hospital wing before the smoke even cleared.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Notes:** Well here we go! Sympathy for the Devil. These song chapters are starting to seem hokey-er and hokey-er. Oh well. I had to have Draco say that. Well tell me how stupid I am, praise me, or ask what the heck I was on—just review. 

Probably two more chapters till the ball, and then two chapters of the ball. Oh how I'll miss this story...yeah.


	18. Ball Gowns

Ball Gowns

                "I'm just stepping out for a moment."

                Draco leaned close to the door that led into the Hospital Wing and listened. He heard Madam Pomfrey speaking to someone and then, strangely enough, his own voice respond.

                "Very well." 

                Draco heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the door and moved back behind a suit of armor just as Madam Pomfrey opened the door to the Hospital Wing. Draco watched as she closed the door behind her and walked off towards the Teacher's lounge. Once she was out of sight he quickly dashed to the door, swung it open, and moved in.

                "Took you long enough." Draco shook his head—it was very unnerving to hear his own voice say that.

                "Turn that off, Davis." Draco commanded curtly and parted the curtains around his bed. Tracey Davis was just sitting there, using her wand to color her nails. "And remove yourself from the bed."

                "That's right." Tracey said and removed the spell from her vocal chords. "You'll need to appear you've been resting up, won't you?" Tracey asked nonchalantly and moved from the bed to the chair next to it. 

                "You're staying?" Draco asked blandly and lay back on his bed.

                "Just waiting for details, dear Draco." Tracey slipped her wand back into her robes and looked at him. 

                "I'm sure you'll hear the rumors soon enough." Draco smirked and Tracey cocked an eyebrow.

                "I do hope that these don't involve skrewts or flobberworms."

                "No, but they might involve deamons and possibly escaped convicts." Draco pondered for a moment and Tracey stood to leave. "Davis—." Draco said and she stopped.

                "What?" 

                "Do you have a quill and parchment?" Draco asked as a brilliant idea dawned on him.

                "But of course." Tracey picked up her bag from the end of his bed, opened it, and handed him the quill, parchment, and ink. Draco quickly wrote something down on the parchment, folded it up, and handed it back to her. She stared at him dryly. "You must be joking."

                "Hardly." Draco stared at her and folded his arms behind his head.

                "Ah but it is my will to serve!" Tracey put her quill and ink back in the bag. "Thy wish is my command, Master Malfoy."

                "With that attitude, you might make a passable right-hand man." Draco paused. "So to speak."

                Tracey just rolled her eyes, put the note in her pocket, and left the Hospital Wing. Draco knew that, after this, he would owe her quite a few favors—but then again, having a Malfoy owe you favors wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "You."

                Ginny nearly leapt out of her skin as she turned the corner and heard a rather dark sounding voice demand her from behind. She spun around and blinked as she spotted one of the Slytherins that had harassed her a few days ago. She stared at the sticklike, pale, black clad girl and backed up a step.

                "Take this." Tracey pulled a note out of her pocket and held it out at Ginny with a flat expression that mimicked distaste—Ginny had never heard of a Slytherin girl passing notes before.

                "Um…thank you?" Ginny said and took the note from her. The moment the note had left her hand, the Slytherin girl turned and walked off looking reasonably irritated. Ginny watched her walk around the corner and then looked down at the note in her hands. She opened it up and nearly laughed aloud as she read it.

                **Tomorrow. Come with me to Hogsmeade. Seven o'clock.**

                It didn't take her long to determine who in the Slytherin house would ever send a note like that. There were only two explanations for this—either it was a joke, or it was the _favor_ that she owed Draco. 

                "What's this, Ginny?"

                Ginny turned to see Cho staring at her with interest. She folded the note and stuck it in her robes drawing a smirk out of Cho.

                "Found Mr. Right, have you?" Cho asked and Ginny smiled.

                "No, I haven't met Mr. Right. But I have met Mr. Rude, Mr. Cheap, and Mr. Cocky." Ginny finished with a nonchalant wave of her right hand.

                "Ah sarcasm," Cho grinned and adjusted her book bag on her shoulder, "Something new and exciting for us." She finished and looked both ways down the hall—there was no one coming either way. "Good work at the match today—I had no idea you could play like you do and still have that shocked shy expression afterwards. Impressive really." Cho commented and furrowed her brow as Ginny's expression altered slightly.

                "Um…thanks." Ginny smiled and Cho's eyes widened.

                "You really were shocked," Cho stated and held up her hand to cover the devilish smile that was twisting her lips. "Merlin. Ginny Weasley actually cared that she hit Draco Malfoy."

                "Don't say it." Ginny warned and fingered her wand.

                "Fine." Cho held up her hands and bit her lip to keep from smiling. "Would you like me to lend you a dress?"

                Ginny stared at her for a moment, rolled her eyes, and walked away at a quick and aggravated pace. She had already had one of the strangest days of her life and now she had to meet Malfoy for a day at Hogsmeade. Somehow, though, the thought of spending a day with Malfoy was somewhat more tolerable than she cared to admit.

                The sun rose lazily over the northern portion of the small island off the coast of France that was commonly referred to as Scotland, and being a weekend and all, the entire populous of the school—save a few of the more…overzealous students who were eagerly awaiting the opening of the library. (Little did they know that Madam Pince had, just recently, been on a bit of a bender and had the worst hangover Hogwarts had seen since the days of the youthful Minerva McGonagall and Persephone Pomfrey.

                As was to be expected the number of carriages set out to take students down to Hogsmeade before noon were quite small and one Draco Malfoy was having quite an easy time scaring the four or five excited groups of third years away from 'his' personal coach. 

                Whilst Draco had the most entertaining task of frightening off young children via his imposing visage his eagle owl was serving a slightly less noble purpose—if that was, in fact, possible. The old tapped impatiently on the window of the fifth year girls' room that Ginny and her four roommates were currently trying to sleep inside. This owl, however, had been ordered on pain of Pansy Parkinson, to wake Ginny and wake her it would.

                "Somebody get it!" Cassandra's pillow muttered sounding particularly annoyed.

                "Is it an owl or a bloody woodpecker?" Linda's balled up covers chimed in sounding particularly groggy. The remaining two beds let out angry groans that were really quite incoherent and finally Ginny just hauled herself from her bed and answered the bird at the window.

                To say the least she'd not expected him to mean seven in the a.m.. Needless to say that Ginny was more than a tad annoyed at having been dragged out of bed by an eagle owl and then forced to rush so she could be 'on time.' She finally managed to tromp out of the castle—without breakfast, much to her chagrin—and she met up with Malfoy.

                "Ah milady, thyne coach awaits." Draco smirked and, with a flourish, opened the door to the carriage. Ginny just rolled her eyes at him and, grumpily, climbed in.

                "Just why are you so cheerful?" Ginny asked as Draco sat down and shut the door behind him. She eyed him suspiciously for a moment and wished, oh so dearly, to wipe the cool smile off of his face.

                "Not a morning person I take it?" Draco drawled and Ginny shook her head—more out of annoyance than anything else.

                "So what do you need me for?" Ginny asked bluntly—something that she didn't do too often.

                "Whatever do you mean?" Draco came back with a question in his annoying monotone.

                "Don't tell me you wanted to spend the day with me just for the awesome pleasure of my company." Ginny looked up at him. He made a small 'hm' noise and then looked out the window without bothering to answer her. Ginny watched him for a moment, shot him a strange look, and just shook her head again.

                The carriage continued down the hill and the two remained in silence for the rest of the ride. It took a while, but Ginny's mind eventually woke fully and she realized that neither of Malfoy's lumbering crones were with them. She supposed that might have been why the average feeling in the air was that of quiet sophistication rather than outright idiocy. The carriage stopped, Draco got out, and in a surprising act of grace, he helped Ginny out of the carriage. The two started walking down the nearly empty streets and finally Ginny broke the silence.

                "Why are we here?" Ginny asked and looked around at all the stores.

                "Getting a bit philosophical, aren't you?" Draco stopped and absentmindedly looked through the window of ones of the shops. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" Draco asked as if it was just another question and took Ginny slightly off guard.

                "I assume you're referring to the ball," Ginny prefaced and looked down the street. "If you're asking whether or not I have a dress yet I must say, I'm afraid I don't."

                "Really, then," Draco arched an eyebrow and looked at her. "You're procrastination is beginning to rival mine."

                "Are you saying that you don't have a dress either?" Ginny shot back with a mildly amused sort of smirk. Draco blinked at her and let out a sigh before shaking his head slightly.

                "Father wanted me to wear his old one but, sadly, I'm not quite his size," Draco professed in a slightly overdone manner and Ginny had to suppress a laugh—but she couldn't manage to keep a smile from creeping over her face.

                "A Malfoy without a ball gown, that's just shameful," Ginny said and fought to keep the mirth out of her voice—the image of Lucius Malfoy in a ball gown was simply too funny.

                "Perhaps we should peruse for one together?" Draco suggested and Ginny picked up the jovial note in his voice.

                "That doesn't sound like a terrible idea," Ginny admitted and then looked back at the street before them. "Who are you and what have you done with Draco?" Ginny forced her voice to sound mildly grave but the grin on her face really gave her away. Had she been paying attention she might have noticed the small surprised look that flashed across the face of the boy behind her—it wasn't the fact that she'd just insulted him, but she'd said his name and it hadn't been forced.

                The two of them went and perused through stores filled with dresses and—much to her jubilance—Ginny managed to rope Draco in a verbal spar and for her victory she got to see him in a mirror of the dress she was wearing. True, he didn't seem too amused by it, but he did remark that his father never had the figure to pull something like that off. After perusing through the clothing store and buying a grand total of nothing the two continued to window shop down the relatively empty streets (though they were filling quickly as noon approached). Nothing but caustic barbs and sharp jabs with their polished rapier wits were exchanged between them—but despite this rather twisted form of conversation they weren't having an insufferable time. Eventually the two of them stopped off at the Three Broomsticks and had something that vaguely resembled lunch.

                The Three Broomsticks was, inexplicably, empty for once in its existence. So, logically, Draco and Ginny had little trouble finding a table. They'd just gotten their butterbeers and were enjoying them in silence when Draco spoke up and nearly caused Ginny to choke.

                "You know _I_ did look better in that dress that you, right?" Draco said just as he took a calm drink of his butterbeer. Unfortunately he'd timed it and spoken right at the time Ginny was trying to swallow. She ended up nearly dropping her bottle to the table and coughing as she fought against the butterbeer she'd inhaled upon the startling statement. 

                "_Pardon me?_" Ginny stared at him, wide-eyed, and Draco cocked an eyebrow before putting on a fake sort of surprised look.

                "You don't agree?" Draco asked and managed, somehow, to keep his composure—he was overjoyed with himself for cracking through her façade so easily. Ginny stared at him and she knew almost immediately why his eyes seemed so smug.

                "I'll have you know, Draco Malfoy," Ginny said and lifted her index finger on her right hand to illustrate her point, "my brother Percy has that very same gown and I have never seen anyone more radiant in it than him." Ginny finished just as Draco took a drink and he nearly choked as well—sadly though he controlled his response a bit better.

                "En guard." Draco smirked at her and lifted his mug.

                "Touché." Ginny clicked her mug against his and grinned. The two finished off their butterbeers and launched into a conversation about just who looked more radiant in which particular gown, which lasted nearly ten minutes before they were interrupted by the worst possible people—no, not the Slytherins.

                "Hello Ginny." Ginny looked up and smiled nervously at her brother. He was quite obviously clenching his teeth together and his knuckles were white from how much force he was using to keep them in tight fists.

                "Ron, how're you?" Ginny asked nicely and her expression fell slightly as Harry and Hermione returned from the bar only to find Ron talking to the pair of people they'd been trying, desperately, not to notice. "Oh Harry, Hermione, lovely to see you," Ginny said humorlessly as the two walked over and stood, uneasily, next to Ron. Draco could have sworn under his breath—he was annoyed that they'd ruined his progress. He'd been trying to get Ginny to laugh since early in the morning and now they were killing the mood.

                "Ginny." Harry smiled at Ginny and then wordlessly inclined his head slightly to Draco who did nothing in return.

                "Um…Hello," Hermione forced a smile and took Ron by the arm. She practically had to drag him away from the table and, after a sharp word from across the room, she managed to get Harry away from the table and back over to them. Unfortunately, despite her polite efforts, she couldn't seem to get either of them to stop glaring at Draco.

                "Hard to ignore, aren't they?" Ginny asked and looked back at Draco.

                "Judging by that throbbing vein in your brother's jaw and that murderous look in Potter's eyes I'd wager that if I kissed you right now they'd try to fillet me," Draco commented off hand and was a bit shocked when Ginny started to laugh. Draco looked at her with a bit of confusion in his eyes—surely she wasn't laughing at the prospect of them filleting him. "What?" He asked and marveled for a moment at how much he sounded like Snape.

                "I don't know how it happened," Ginny prefaced and shook her head. "But somehow I just imagined Ron and Harry in copies of that dress, shaking their fists at you from afar." Ginny sighed and tried to force her smile down a bit as she looked up at Draco. He was clenching his teeth together and had a smirk on his face that only made her want to laugh more. Finally they both just gave up and started laughing—this shocked many of the third, second, and first years and caused both Harry and Ron to shoot up out of their seats as if he'd committed a felony.

                "That, Ginny, is the single funniest thing I've thought of all day." Draco congratulated her slightly and noticed the bristling pair of boys that were trying to dissect him with their eyes.

                "Somehow I think we should part ways here, lest my brother have an aneurysm." Ginny sighed heavily and shot Ron a withering glare. "But I must admit you're not as big an ass as I originally thought." Ginny smirked back at Draco, obviously mocking him.

                "You're not as helpless as you look either," Draco stood up and, as he was walking out, he added, "Except when it comes to ball gowns."

                "Alright! You looked better in it than I did!" Ginny called after him and shook her head. This was a very strange day, and she had a feeling it would only get stranger. Unfortunately her prediction was spot on as a second later Ron and Harry, despite Hermione's protests, crossed the room and sat down at the table where Ginny was.

                "What are you doing, Gin, he's the enemy!" Ron announced and looked at Harry who nodded.

                The two of them switched back and forth between each other and between both warnings to Ginny and insults towards Draco. This continued for nearly an hour—Hermione had left long ago—and finally Ginny was starting to get tired of listening (or rather not listening) to them. She stood up abruptly, grabbed the nearest person—Parvati Patil—and sat her down in the chair.

                "Sorry boys, I must be off, but here—Parvati would love to hear all about it!" Ginny smiled, patted Parvati on the shoulder, and waved at them as she moved towards the door. "Take notes for me!" She called and was gone.

                "Hear all about what?" Parvati asked after a moment of silence. She was confused and a bit uneasy about being shoved into a chair across from Harry and Ron, but she was always up for news or gossip. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Notes:** First off I would like to assure you all (wonderful reviewers that you are) that, yes, I will be producing more HP fanfiction after this fic. I have one which I will finish—or die trying—and I have several other D/G stories that are ready to be written.

Next, the chapter Sympathy for the Devil was a bit out of place. I had originally planned for a small sort of competition between Harry, Anthony, and Draco to try and keep/win Ginny. Unfortunately this story has already spanned too long for my taste and I had to cut it out. But that chapter did demonstrate a bit of Draco, right?

Thanks to all of you and I apologize for the long wait. The other chapters should be coming along rather quickly but they are going to be nearly twice to thrice as long as this one.


	19. Waltz of the Snowflakes

Waltz of the Snowflakes

                "I look absurd." Ginny stared in the mirror and fought to resist the urge to push the hair that had been curled against her cheek.

                "You look fine." Colin replied as he pulled the back of her dress a bit tighter and tied the bow with no small amount of fineness. Ginny snorted, indignantly, in reply. "Well you'll be fine as long as you don't do that."

                "I'm going to rip my hair out!" Ginny growled abruptly as Colin slapped her hand to keep it away from the curled bits of hair so neatly arranged and slicked down to the sides of her face.

                "Wait until after the ball then!" Colin protested and moved to the mirror next to Ginny to straighten out his robes. "It took me half an hour to get your hair to stay like that and I'll be buggered if you're letting it down!"

                "Ugh, the things I do for you Creevey." Ginny adjusted her bun but stopped abruptly as Colin shot her a hard look.

                "The things I do for you, for Malfoy." Dennis corrected and combed his hair back again. "How do I look?" Ginny eyed him strangely and smirked slightly.

                "Less slicked back and you wouldn't look so…Slytherin."

                "Ugh." Colin began to redo his hair and Ginny admired her dress in the mirror.

                It was that same dress that she'd had the distinct pleasure of seeing Draco in, and hadn't looked half bad in herself. There really wasn't much about it—just green, long, no real padding or frilly anything to speak of. In fact, the only piece of detail was the black sash that wrapped around her waist and tied in a bow behind the dress. Sadly Ginny was only renting this particular gown (the proprietor of the store had found Draco in the gown so amusing that she hadn't a problem in the world renting it to Ginny), and it looked so good on her too…ah well.

                "Why did we get ready so late?" Colin asked, arbitrarily, and Ginny glanced over at him.

                "Because we had to sneak down to Hogsmeade to get these outfits and then Cho held a meeting that we had to attend." Ginny responded and wondered whether or not she should have worn a necklace.

                "That would only account for two hours, what took up the other three?" Colin furrowed his brow and looked at her.

                "Parvati insisted on telling us every little thing Ron and Harry were mad about." Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly.

                "Oh right." Colin adjusted his collar stodgily and it was Ginny's turn to slap his hand away. "Well, do I look any less Malfoy now?"

                "That you do," Ginny said with a smile and straightened out the front of Colin's dark maroon dress robe. "But who says that's a good thing?" Ginny taunted him slightly and Colin shook his head.

                "And to think, a week ago you would have shoved me out of Trelawney's window for making a comment like that."

                "Now Colin!" Ginny stood up straight and stepped back from him—nearly catching her high heel in the cracks between the stone. "That only happened once and it was two years ago!"

                "You shoved me out of Trelawney's window, Ginny." Colin glanced back at the mirror and slid his comb back into his robes. "Don't think just because it was a one time occurrence and it was a few years back that I'll just _let_ you forget it."

                "Oh shut up and let's go." Ginny set her hands on her hips and smirked as Colin cocked an eyebrow at her and started towards the door. The two of them walked out of the bathroom, thankful that Moaning Myrtle hadn't been present and had given them time to get ready in peace, and Ginny shot Colin a strange look once they were out the door.

                "What?" Colin asked as they started walking.

                "You're supposed to hold the door for a lady, Creevey." Ginny waved her right hand absentmindedly and Colin snorted.

                "I didn't see one."

                Ginny frowned at Colin, hit him in the stomach lightly, and shook her head. Honestly she should have killed him for that little calendar bit but he'd spent two hours doing her hair so she supposed that made up for it—assuming he didn't make a second edition.

                Ginny waited outside the Great Hall, next to one of the caroling suits of armor and the moving ice sculptures. She was beginning to get impatient as the music started inside and several couples breezed by her to start enjoying the dance.

                Blaise Zabini shot Ginny a look as she entered with a tall, dark haired Ravenclaw. After her Tracey Davis was practically dragged from the shadows by a large, somewhat goonish looking Hufflepuff. Then Colin (with his lovely date—A Ravenclaw, her name was Judy, or so Ginny thought) entered just in time to obscure Ginny from the sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Cho Chang. After them there was a fairly steady stream of people but still no blonde, smarmy, Slytherin gits to be seen.

                "Bit distracted today, are we?" Ginny jumped as she heard the infamous drawl of Draco Malfoy right behind her. "I've been standing here for nigh on five minutes now, holding this—(he shook the stack of papers and quill he had in his right had, which had been right next to Ginny's head)—and you'd yet to notice me."

                "Sorry, I was distracted—waiting for my incredibly handsome, smarmy, and self assured date to arrive." Ginny put her left hand on her hip and motioned with her right hand as she turned around and gave Draco a 'once over.' 

                As standard procedure dictated he was in dress robes. Dark green—yet somehow his green didn't quite match the dark green on her dress. It figured. He had the standard high collar, silver lining, and, in his right hand just below his fine silver cufflink, was a stack of paper and her Home Stenographer Quill™.

                "Really?" Draco cocked an eyebrow and smirked thoughtfully. "Anyone I know?"

                "Perhaps." Ginny backed up a step and looked at the papers in his hand. "I see you've decided to return my property at long last."

                "To say the least." Draco handed her the stack and the quill. She took it and, after a moment of flipping through the papers her expression changed from bemused disinterest to horrified revulsion.

                "My journal!" Ginny hissed and looked up at him incredulously. "You slimy git, you copied it out of my quill!"

                "I did," Draco admitted but with no change to his sophisticated exterior. "But rest assured, I couldn't bring myself to read it." Draco watched as Ginny turned to the last page and her expression changed again. Scrawled on the center of the page were the sentences _'Why are you so mad? It's not like she's yours.'_

                Ginny stared down at this page for a long time and both of them remained silent. She stepped back from him, slightly, set the pages and the quill on the ground, and stared up at his grey eyes. There was another uncomfortable silence before she reached around and drew her wand out of the sash around her waist. 

                "**Incendo.**" Ginny flicked her wand at the papers and quill. A red sphere shot from the tip of it and, in moments, the stack was reduced to a pile of ash. Ginny calmly replaced her wand into her sash, looked back up at Draco, and the corners of her lips turned up slightly as he offered his arm.

                The Great Hall was decked just as it was every year. The ceiling gave the illusion it was snowing despite the fact that it hadn't snowed yet, the house tables were pushed off to the sides of the room, and up in the center there was a band—or rather a wizard who was renown for his Levitation skills and a gaggle of instruments that seemed play themselves.

                Some of the couples were dancing to the upbeat classical music the 'band' was playing, some of them gathered around the tables, some of them 'mingling.' They weren't the last to arrive through the doors so they didn't receive any special attention for that. But the fact that Draco Malfoy had just arrived with Ginny Weasley on his arm was enough to draw attention from the majority of the crowd. (They'd just thought it was a rumor, most of them.)

                "Really Draco." Pansy Parkinson stepped in front of the two, her frightened date—Stewart Acklery—contemplating gnawing off his arm to free it from her vice-like grip. "Showing up with this Riff-Raff!"

                "I know," Draco said curtly and frowned. "I'm quite disappointed in you Acklery." Stewart blanched as Pansy tightened her grip on his arm and narrowed her eyes at Draco.

                "You couldn't do much better this late though, so I'll forgive you." Ginny smiled nicely at Stewart and Pansy promptly took him away towards the refreshments.

                "This is amusing." Draco commented quietly as the two of them simply stood next to the table, where Pansy had stopped them.

                "That it is." Ginny agreed and glanced around. "Strange."

                "What, pray tell?" Draco asked and glanced around the room with a most aristocratic feel about him.

                "I don't see my brothers…any of them." Ginny frowned slightly and shrugged. 

                "And the night, already, gets easier." Draco smiled down at Ginny and she shook her head slightly—a grin creeping over her features. "Well, Miss Virginia Weasley," Draco said, stepped back from her, and bowed in an overdrawn and lordly manner.

                "Yes, Mr. Draco Malfoy." Ginny cocked an eyebrow and smirked slightly as he took her hand.

                "Would you care to dance?" Ginny just shook her head (smile prevalent on her features) and walked out onto the dance floor with Draco.

                Truly it wasn't much of a spectacle as they weren't flashily dressed in comparison to some of the other couples. They weren't dancing flamboyantly and trying to draw attention. In fact the only reasons anyone would care to pay them any mind were that a) they were Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy, and b) they danced quite fluidly. Draco dancing well came as little surprise to anyone—he'd been trained at it along with all his high classed politesse since before he could walk, but Ginny danced so well that it was slightly unnerving. (Draco was forced to look down at her feet and assure himself that, no, she hadn't cast a levitation charm or attached invisible wheels to them and she was, in fact, stepping to the music.)

                The music changed slightly and became a rather upbeat waltz. Ginny sighed contently at the music (she whispered something like 'Waltz of the Snowflakes, how appropriate.'), and Draco noticed as the ceiling above started to display snow at double-time—it must have been snowing outside. The couples around started waltzing clumsily, a few of them—mostly partnered with students of richer and more influential parentage—managed to change styles fairly quickly but Draco and Ginny were another story altogether. They blended from the last dance into perfect form with such fluid motion that if one hadn't known better one might think it was all a planned dance.

                "You're quite good at this," Ginny said as she stepped to the side, her motion mirrored by Draco.

                "Likewise." Draco smirked, wrapped his arm around her waist a bit more, tightened his grip on her hand, and dipped her back. True, it wasn't a move sanctioned by the particular type of music, but the way it was executed made it nothing extraordinary to have done. He pulled Ginny back up, her left thigh was parallel with his hip—a most common position to be in when one recovers from a dip—and intended to keep dancing but he was violently pulled away from her from behind. Before Draco had much of a chance to even identify his attacker he was savagely punched across the jaw and thrown to the ground next to where Ginny had stumbled back upon their separation.

                "I'll kill you!" Ron snarled, his face red, a vein in his forehead throbbing, and his fists clenched so tightly it turned his knuckles white. He would have leapt on Draco, all intent to carry out his promise, had Ginny—more than slightly annoyed and a bit flustered—not drawn her wand and aimed it directly between his eyes.

                "There will be _NO_ killing of my date by anyone other than _ME_, **Ronald Weasley**," Ginny growled and narrowed her eyes at Ron. Had Harry not been possessed of the common sense to grab Ron by the shoulders and practically fling him away from the two then Ronald Weasley would have been, most likely, hospitalized upon jumping towards Draco Malfoy.

                "Charming." Draco stood up, straightened his robes, and rubbed his jaw slightly as Ginny put her wand back into the sash of her dress. Surprisingly the attack on Draco Malfoy had been so expected that even the couples dancing hadn't bothered to pay them the slightest attention.

                "Shall we go for refreshments," Ginny asked as she turned back to Draco. She glanced over her shoulder at where the blustering and irate Ron was behind held down by nearly three Gryffindor boys and then turned back to him, an exasperated expression across her features. "Perhaps we'll lose him."

                "Perhaps." Draco offered his arm and Ginny took it. The two of them moved through the crowd past the 'band' and stopped at the table set out for refreshments. (Which, on normal days, would be referred to as the Slytherin House Table but alas, this was a dance.) Draco, who was not particularly parched, poured Ginny a glass of punch and the two of them sat down at one of the more vacant sections of the table.

                "Thank you." Ginny smiled at Draco as she took the glass and sat down. She looked back and groaned slightly as she noticed Harry and Hermione running about frantically—probably trying to find Ron—and took a drink of her punch. She winced slightly as she drank it and Draco eyed her.

                "Too strong?" he asked mirthfully—it wasn't even alcoholic.

                "A bit, but it is to be expected." Ginny waved off the comment and took another drink. "The elves make it strong in case the ice melts."

                "Understandable," Draco commented offhand to continue the inane conversation. He felt no need to speak really—they were of the same mind even if they didn't admit to it, and there had been no uncomfortable silence after they'd entered the room. "Why did you believe me?" Draco asked as Ginny finished her glass of punch.

                "Why shouldn't I have?" Ginny asked, her expression perfectly calm and reasonable. Draco could have listed several of the reasons that most people, let alone Gryffindors, and heaven forbid Weasleys, shouldn't believe him but he waited instead for her to supply her reasoning. "You've never actually lied to me," Ginny said sincerely and then smirked before amending it, "except for that one time."

                "What one time?" Draco asked and looked slightly affronted—he was only mildly shocked to come to the realization that, no, he'd never actually lied to her.

                "I pull this dress off, you don't." Ginny grinned and Draco smirked like a madman. He was about to make a lewd comment when Ginny held up her hand to silence him and stood to get herself some more punch.

                "Ginny!"

                Ginny spun around, her newly refilled glass in hand, and gasped slightly as she was grabbed by the arm and swiftly pulled out of the hall into the snowy and somewhat 'done up' gardens that had been provided for those students ready to leave the dance for a while. Ginny's eyes adjusted quickly in the darkness and, before she'd been pulled more than two hundred feet, she yanked her arm back.

                "Hermione! What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?" Ginny asked with quiet indignation and leaned forward towards the girl who'd dragged her from the hall.

                "I should be asking you that!" Hermione stared at Ginny incredulously and Ginny just shook her head.

                "Hermione, I'm not in the mood." Ginny quickly drank her punch and stared at the brunette.

                "You were dancing with him like that, Ron might have overreacted but he was somewhat justified." Hermione stepped forward and Ginny swayed back and snatched the glass from her hands. "Then you start having a conversation with Malfoy—."

                "Surely that's not a crime." Ginny cocked en eyebrow and shook her head—she was beginning to feel a tad lightheaded.

                "Maybe not but you trusted him enough to drink punch that was _obviously_ spiked!" Hermione shook the glass at her and threw it to the ground. It landed in one of the piles of snow that had begun to gather on the ground about them.

                "What?" Ginny asked and eyed her.

                "Come on little sister, you've had a bit too much to drink." Ginny jumped as Ron walked up behind her and took her by the right arm.  Harry took her by the left arm and the two obviously intended to take her back to the tower. This was getting ridiculous.

                "What are you two doing? Let me go this instant!" Ginny growled at the two of them but all she got in response were sympathetic looks and tighter grips around her arms.

                "Sorry Ginny," Ron muttered as both he and Harry lifted her up off her feet and started carrying her back towards the front entrance of the school.

                "It's for your own good." Harry smiled nervously and tried, very hard, not to make eye contact with Ginny.

                "If you don't release me this instant you'll both regret it!" Ginny snarled and kicked her feet in an attempt to throw them off balance.

                The three of them, Hermione in tow, had almost reached the main entrance to the school when Harry stumbled forward. Out of the corner of her eye Ginny saw the telltale red flash that denoted a stunning spell and saw a tall dark haired couple dash into the Great Hall. As Harry stumbled Ginny wrenched her arm free of him and, a moment later, had her wand drawn and aimed at Ron. Ron released her slowly and she stepped back from them in order to get all three of them in her view.

                "Ginny, you're not thinking straight, you wouldn't really hurt us would you?" Harry asked shakily as he stood up. 

                Ginny looked more than eerie in the sort of half-light that had replaced the glow of the hall. Her expression was grim and the alcohol she'd imbibed was beginning to take effect over her. Her form, despite how far under the influence, was rigid and her wand pointed at the three of them. When she spoke it was with an ominous tone that mirrored that of a howler.

                "**RONALD WEASLEY! HARRY POTTER! HERMIONE GRANGER!**" she shouted and the three of them just stared at her. "Ron! You are my brother, and I love you. You protected me from what I couldn't handle when I was younger. Harry, you're like a brother, and I love you too. You saved me from something else I couldn't handle my first year. Hermione, you're like the sister I never had and you saved my relationship with these two simply by existing…"

                Ginny paused and her cold, hard, and livid gaze swept over them.

                "But today you crossed a line!"

                "Ginny—." Harry tired to cut in but Ginny cut him off.

                "Was I finished talking!?" Ginny hissed through her teeth and glared at Harry.

                "Ginny this is Malfoy, you can't handle him," Ron pleaded with her but her face flushed red—not wholly from anger but more from alcohol.

                "Do not presume, _DEAR BROTHER_, that I am as inept and naive as I once was!" Ginny narrowed her eyes at him and took a deep breath. She desperately wanted to calm down before she did something regrettable, but considering who she was talking with and what it was about she doubted she'd have the opportunity. "Now, we're all going to go back in—."

                "I won't let you go back to that slimy git!" Ron shouted and Ginny's attempts to calm down proved to be in vain.

                "**Draco Capere!**" Ginny drew back her wand and swirled it in a circle above her head.

                The tip of Ginny's wand lit up white and as she dragged it through the air thin lines like threads formed. Harry, who'd planned on taking Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts knew exactly what the spell she'd cast did. He quickly grabbed both Hermione and Ron and took off running as the threads started to form a giant flickering shape in the air. From the massive swirls above Ginny's head sprung two large wings, then a head, and very quickly a full-grown dragon comprised of threads of light burst from the swirl. 

                "**Ligare!**" Ginny shouted and pointed her wand at the fleeing three. The magical dragon reeled its head back, let loose a sort of warbling boom that resembled a roar and shot through the air after them. The dragon quickly overtook the three and crashed to the ground atop them. The dragon broke apart into the threads that formed it; the threads wrapped around the three, and then tied them down to the ground. The threads of light cooled and turned to stone as the snow struck them, and the irate Ginny stalked off towards the Great Hall again.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "Malfoy!" Draco looked away from Ginny and found himself quickly confronted by both of the Weasley twins. They looked somewhat flushed; no doubt they'd become that way after fleeing from one of their own creations.

                "What do you two want?" Draco asked irritably and cocked an eyebrow. He wasn't really in a foul mood, but he tended to give that impression to everyone.

                "Heard Ron jumped you," Fred (or was it George?) said and sat down on Draco's right side whilst the other half of the brain took his left.

                "Got in a good one for somethin' Harry wouldn' speak of." George grinned and Draco eyed them.

                "Not that I don't _enjoy_ this little tirade, but just what **do** you two want?" Draco interrupted and both of the twins looked around.

                "Where's Ginny?" Fred asked and George nodded.

                "What do you mean, she just went for punch—." Draco turned but quickly fell silent as he noticed the distinct lack of redhead near the punch bowl.

                "You didn't let her into the punch did you?" George asked and stared at Draco incredulously. Draco cocked an eyebrow at him and watched as both he and Fred shared an uneasy look and stood up abruptly. He caught them whispering something along the lines of 'Shouldn't have put so much in it!' and 'All your fault!' as they hurried off and suddenly he became very concerned about the situation at hand.

                "By Merlin the things I do for her!" Draco whispered, stood up, and followed after the twins as they exited the Great Hall and marched down the 'decked' halls towards the kitchens. The twins ducked behind the painting and Draco quickly followed after him. Needless to say they were mildly shocked when he spoke up behind them. "So," Draco drawled and the Weasley twins nearly leapt out of their skin, "you two spiked the punch did you?"

                "Um…" Fred responded philosophically but George cut in.

                "What gives you that idea?" George asked with a nervous laugh.

                "The bottle of…Vodka in your hand was a bit of a hint." Draco eyed the two empty bottles that the twins were holding and rolled his eyes.

                "We only put in four—." Fred cracked and started trying to defend himself but George quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

                "Four bottles?" Draco asked and quickly turned back and left the kitchen. Ginny had to have drunk her second glass by now and by no means were the punch glasses small. Draco had just made it back to the entrance of the Great Hall when Blaise Zabini and her date burst through the doors.

                "Draco." Blaise took him aside and her date moved towards the main entrance of the school. "That delightfully angry and mildly drunk date of yours is outside—probably gutting Potter as we speak. You might want to reign her in before something…distasteful happens." Blaise stood up in her most proper fashion and tucked her wand back into her dress.

                Draco inclined his head to Blaise slightly and jogged towards the front entrance just as her tall, dark haired date returned with news of the trios' fates. Draco stepped out the doors and blinked once in confusion as his mind reeled and tried to comprehend what he was seeing. The infamous trio was wrapped up in what looked like a stone bramble and tied down to the ground in the snow.

                "Surely that she learned just for me," Draco stated grimly and moved towards the gardens—he certainly hoped he could find Ginny before she did something distasteful in her drunken state. (Distasteful being either trying to set the school aflame or attacking Pansy Parkinson…not that the latter would have been particularly bad…just distasteful.

**Author's Notes:** Well one more chapter after this! (Maybe two…depending on how well the next chapter writes.) Oh my heart weeps with both sadness and joy that this story is almost over. Quite vexing…. Well the next chapter stars SlightlySentimental!Draco and MeanDrunk!Ginny so stay tuned.

                 "Aside from the great and many thanks I owe my reviewers I'll take this time to answer questions!" Isis cleared her throat and muttered a quiet 'thank you' to Oliver Wood (one of the few left out of the story, regrettably) as he handed her a sheet of questions. "First off, _Who sang Sympathy for the Devil_?"

                "I'll field this one." Ron leaned forward and pulled out a journal marked 'Arthur Weasley's Musical Manifesto.' He dropped the large book on the table and scanned through it. "I believe that was the…_Tumbling Rocks_?"

                "That would be _The Rolling Stones_, Ron." Hermione corrected politely and Ron nodded before closing the book.

                "Next, oh a compilation!" Isis squinted as she glanced over the long block of text.

                "Well?" Ginny urged her forward and leaned back in her chair.

                "Right, um, _I love your sense of humor. The sarcasm is great. Everyone is in character._" Isis summarized the statements of several of the reviewers. "Those aren't questions, but thanks anyway!"

                "In character, are you lot daft?" Draco sneered and eyed Ginny Weasley distastefully. "Bloody muggles…."

                "At least you weren't paired with me this time…" Hermione said sounding mildly scandalized. "Those stories disturb me to no end…."

                "Well, come now! To the next question!" Isis interrupted for the sake of the D/Hr fans. "_Will you be returning to the world of HP fanfiction after this story_?"

                "One can only hope," Terence Higgs commented rather nastily.

                "Thank you." Isis grinned, oblivious.

                "I think he meant one can only hope **not**." Oliver leaned forward and Isis blinked.

                "Well!" Isis snorted indignantly and then read the next question. "And lastly, for now, _is Tracey Davis and original character_?"

                "Of course she is, J.K.R. is too busy following Saint Potter around to delve into detail about **my** inner circle." Draco sneered and jumped slightly as Tracey slinked up beside him and sat down in her assigned seat around the table.

                "Yes, in short I own Tracey Davis, and was planning on using her in another fic…but I'm undecided." Isis admitted and scooted her chair over a few feet to try and escape Tracey's gaze.

                "You may own me but it owns you," she stated coolly with a smirk and Ginny cocked an eyebrow at her.

                "We know, the forces of darkness will own your soul…something…something…end of the world." Hermione repeated the mantra they'd all heard outside before the meeting and Ginny shook her head.

                "Thank Merlin you're not Cannonical." Ginny backed away from Tracey as well and everyone silently agreed as the Omake ended.

Note: The spell Ginny used translates thusly.

"Dragon Capture [them]!"  
"Bind!"


	20. I wouldn't have it any other way

Chapter 20: I wouldn't have it any other way…

                "You know," Ginny drawled lightly as she stared with bleary eyes at the chiseled face before her. "You're real' good at this conversation thin'." Ginny grinned and promptly patted the back of the statue she was leaning on in a very friendly manner. The statue didn't respond, though Ginny started laughing as if it had. Fortunately this spectacle was hardly visible as it was just Ginny standing out by the doors with a single inanimate statue of _Newt Scamander_ as her sole companion.

                "So, anyway, as I was sayin'," Ginny slurred as she finished laughing and paused in her speech as a confused pair of Hufflepuffs walked out of the hall and eyed her. They passed and she continued. "Af'er that he had the _gall_ to start callin' me by my first name! It was eerie…" Ginny shuddered but, as she leaned back against her stone conversation mate she paused. "But endearin'…an' kinda' cute, come to think of it…."

                "That's good to know, Virginia Weasley." Draco calmly spoke as he stood facing away from her, back leaning against her conversation partner—he, being inanimate, didn't seem to mind much. Strangely though, in her drunken stupor, Ginny seemed convinced—and none too surprised by the concept—that the statue was speaking to her.

                "Don' call me 'at…" Ginny started but Draco interrupted her, bemusedly.

                "Only your grandparents and father, I know." Draco pondered this predicament and though he didn't often like tricking drunken girls into admitting things to him he wasn't often in a position to hear admissions from a girl so particularly odd and endearing. "What would you like him to call you?"

                "Y'mean if' he didn't call me Weasley?" Ginny asked with a scoff and a note of slightly hurt indignity. "Prolly' let him call me Gin', if he really wanted."

                "A type of alcohol?" Draco asked flatly, but the smile that twisted the corners of his lips did nothing to hide his amusement.

                "S'not like 'e's not had it 'fore." Ginny snorted and Draco had to stifle a laugh—how bad of an outlook on him did she have? Probably a dark one, considering.

                "Sounds like you aren't certain whether you like him or hate him." Draco leaned back, this was the question he was most inclined to ask and have answered.

                "Exactly!" Ginny slung her arm around the shoulders of the statue and stared it straight in the eyes, as if trying to communicate a certain secrecy. "I love him', I hate him', tis quite a predicament!" Draco was stunned—he'd expected some form of drunken ramblings that ended in a diplomatic answer, he'd not prepared himself for something so blunt. "I s'pose I love to hate him…and hate to love him…or somethin' like that. Or was that hate to hate and love to love?" Ginny trailed off inaudibly with her grammatical dilemma and Draco just stared, blankly, at the back of her slumped head.

                "He's like Orion," Ginny stated flatly with no form of explanation, whatsoever. After a few moments Draco prompted her for one.

                "How so?"

                "Well see, he'd Orion and I'm Cassiopeia." Ginny motioned up at the night sky, vaguely, despite the fact that it was covered over with clouds. "Always fighting to push the other out of the sky and pas' the horizon…but it'd jus' be strange withou' one or the other…you know?" Ginny asked and Draco contemplated this. This was, basically, the basis of their relationship—both caught in constant struggle but without the other or the struggle itself something would seem quite off. Virginia Weasley had a gift with metaphors when drunk. 

                "I wonder jus' how he'd react if he heard thi's?" Ginny laughed and grinned at the statue. "Prolly' laugh an' make some comment bout' me bein' a stick, or somethin'…." Ginny, being in the flurry of emotion most often equated with drunkenness, suddenly went from jovial to a state very near tears. Draco wasn't certain whether to read into it or not—or simply to be hurt of flattered. All of this was quite confusing for a sober mind, but somewhere in the recesses of his psyche he could relate to her strangely expressed thoughts.

                "I don't know, he might do something wholly amazing," Draco commented once he found his voice. The sniffling Ginny promptly removed her hand from the statue and stared down at the ground in a mild depression. Draco took the opportunity to step back around to the other side of the statue and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He led her away a bit and sat her down on a stone bench just below one of the great stained glass windows that lined the Great Hall—it seemed that even in this she'd not realized that he wasn't the statue. 

                However prone to flowery language, she was quite oblivious in this state.

                "Like what?" Ginny asked dejectedly in a way that made her sound remarkably like Moaning Myrtle.

                "How should I know?" Draco asked with a small smile as he looked down at the shorter redhead. "You'll have to tell him to his face to find out."

                "Why should I do tha'?" Ginny asked indignantly and frowned. "He's a jerk and, arrogant, and a prat, and a total waste of space!" Ginny paused and leaned against Draco slightly. "An' I'm a bi'ch, a sneak, a devious little redheaded stick, and a total waste of makeup." 

                "See," Draco said in an amused tone and shook her slightly as he drew her in to a sort of half hug, "you're both so damned annoying and intolerable, you're practically made for each other!" Draco was a bit more than satisfied with himself when she laughed and looked up from the ground. 

                "Now come on," Draco leaned forward and saw her eyes widen slightly as her brow furrowed with confusion, "this lovely little foray into the perversely formal is nearly over and I want another dance."

                Draco stood up, taking Ginny up with him as her motor functions had been seriously impaired due to the amount of vodka imbibed. She stared up at him confused for a while but the head-rush she was struck with due to the standing caused her to lean on him in order to keep from fainting back. Draco didn't seem to mind at all that she was leaning on him completely, and looked up at the window above them as the next song started. 

                True, they were out in the cold, Ginny wasn't going to remember any of this with any amount of clarity, Draco probably looked like a fool, and it was snowing on them as they moved in a slow circle to the 'Blue Danube Waltz,' a song far too fast for that particular style of dance, but none of that mattered. Draco had something of an epiphany while dancing there with a half-conscious Virginia Weasley, and hopefully she would have the same when she regained full brain function in the morning. He had found something that most people quested for and never quite arrived at—a sort of soul mate, he supposed. Ginny Weasley led a backwards version of his life and somehow the two of them understood the other so perfectly that it was both disturbing and charming at the same time. She was the sort of person he could just be silent around and remain comfortable.

                He could still beat her at Quidditch though….

                Draco smiled as the song ended and found that Ginny had fallen asleep against him. Quite a talent sleeping while on both feet, it was probably a purely Weasley skill. With no small amount of maneuvering and bribery Draco managed to get her back into her own bed before the mobs left the Great Hall and, thusly, was able to return to his own before he was questioned by the Slytherin Inquisition.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

                "Ginny!" Linda, or so Ginny assumed by the tone of voice, hurled a rather stiff pillow through the air and nailed her in the head. Ginny sat up slightly, swayed back, and, as she came to her senses, realized just why the other girls were struggling desperately to sleep. It was probably only six in the morning, on a weekend, and there was an eagle owl tapping on the glass by her bed. 

                "Is that an owl or a bloody woodpecker?" Cassandra whined and tried to block out the incessant tapping with her down pillow.

                "Uh…I got it," Ginny groaned as she swung her legs out of bed, yawned, and shuffled over to the window.

                The moment Ginny opened the window the owl flew in, bringing a great gush of cold air and some snowflakes with it, and sat down haughtily on her bed. Ginny eyed the bird and even in her sleepy stupor realized that the poor thing must have been freezing outside. (The fact that it was half trying to pull her blankets up onto itself didn't hurt her conclusion much.) Being newly awoken from a most deep and restful sleep only to find a headache and ornery bird, however, Ginny wasn't in a very sympathetic mood.

                "Gimme' that!" Ginny picked up the owl (it nipped at her in protest), removed the letter from its leg, and waved it off with no treat whatsoever. Needles to say the owl was particularly vexed about this and clicked its beak in distaste. Ginny opened the letter and stared down at the words for, probably, a good five minutes before she realized just what they said.

                                **Is it okay if I speak to you today? You've been pissed off for a week now.**

**                                Nothing I could say could make you look up, or crack up.**

**                                Is there anything I could do to show you—**

**                                You're a bitch, but I love you anyway.**

                "What?" Ginny stared at the words, blankly, and tried to recall what had happened last night. She remembered walking into the dance, dancing with Draco, she had a few drinks…but everything after that was a bit fuzzy. She recalled casting the curse she'd learned from Anthony, she tried to remember who but just remembered that there were three of them. She fought hard with her fatigued mind and, after a long time, recalled a single scene with almost dreamy clarity.

                She was standing outside, on a blanket of white, beneath colored shafts of light, which tinted the falling snow strange colors as it passed them by. She was leaned against—in the arms of someone, a boy, and they were dancing. She could barely make out the music, but it didn't seem that it mattered much. The scenery, surroundings, in fact everything beyond five feet from herself in that particular memory was just a dark blur. She pondered on this and her eyes widened as she recalled a pair of grey eyes and the statue she'd spoken to.

                "It can't be," Ginny said with bemused doubt as she stared down at the letter. "It must have been from one of the people I cursed, that's right—it's from one of them." Ginny's attempt to turn her mind from shocking news wasn't met well as she remembered the faces of the three she'd cursed. "Oh dang."

                "Shut up or leave!" Cassandra's pillow muttered and Ginny took the hint. She, being far too shocked to _actually_ get dressed, threw on her puffy pink house-robe and cautiously walked down to the common room. She found it, remarkably, empty and quickly sat down next to the freshly lit fireplace. Unfortunately no more than a few minutes had passed before Ginny heard a sort of shocked and irritated gasp from up the steps.

                "Have fun last night, Ginny?" Hermione asked in a slightly scathing tone as she gave Ginny her most reproachful glare.

                "I don't recall, I think the punch was spiked…." Ginny shook her head and Hermione looked distinctly relieved—as if this new knowledge alleviated her, fully, of the charges previously put to her.

                "Oh, poor girl," Hermione said as she set her books down on the table and sat on the couch across from Ginny. "You must have been under the influence when you attacked us."

                "Now wait a minute," Ginny interrupted Hermione's nearly singsong comfort as she recalled a few more fuzzy details from her only basely inebriated state. "You lot jumped me—I think I had a right."

                "Jumped you?" Hermione asked and looked almost scandalized.

                "Yes, jumped me, as in grabbed me by the arms and dragged me off." Ginny shot her a flat look—she recalled the events but not the particular words that had been exchanged. Hermione blustered about this for a moment and then, after further thought, fell silent. "Do you know if Ron sent me this?" Ginny, still mildly confused about the letter in her hands, handed the paper over to Hermione and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to push back her raging hangover.

                "Ron, write this?" Hermione read the page over and then looked up at Ginny. "As pained as I am to say this, Ron would have sworn a bit more." Hermione handed the paper back to Ginny and she stared at it in confusion.

                "Who—." Ginny paused and her mind recalled bits and pieces of the conversation she'd had last night. "He might do something wholly amazing…." Ginny stared down at the paper and, as the realization sank in, she stood up abruptly. She rushed over to the posting board that reside against the wall, tore off some of the more inane papers, and searched, frantically, for the Quidditch schedule. She spotted what she was after and, without even bothering to change from her pink robe and silky white pajamas, swung open the portrait and dashed out into the nearly abandoned hall.

                Ginny looked to her left and then to her right as she reached the stairs before the Great Hall. She heard voices coming from outside, thought they were probably a good distance off. She dashed down the stairs, stumbled on the last one, and nearly lost her footing as she ran, barefoot, over the cold and mildly damp castle floor. She had to know if it was him. She shoved open one of the heavy wooden doors, squeezed through the opening, and dashed down the front steps.

                It was snowing, the word was blanketed in white, the sky was dark, and the pure snow beneath her feet crunched as she stepped forward. She was right; they did have practice this morning. She stopped and stared ahead at the one person who'd halted upon seeing her. She suspected he was the only person, in fact, who'd seen her as the rest of the team had already passed around the side of the castle towards the pitch.

                "You're up early." Draco's grey eyes locked with hers and, even though they were both void of expression as per standard, he seemed somewhat alight because of something.

                "I had to redesign my tally system," Ginny said, calmly, but Draco knew she was joking about it.

                "What's the score?" He asked and turned to face her fully.

                "I forget," Ginny said rather breathlessly before she stepped forward a few paces, set her hands on either side of his face, and pulled him down for a kiss he obviously wasn't prepared for. The two stood, locked in a kiss, with the world wrapped about them as it had been while they were dancing. There was something ethereal about the chilled air, the swirling snow, and the blanket of renewing white that covered everything until the horizon. When Ginny finally pulled away from him she smirked. "But whatever it is, I think we're even."

                "Even?" Draco asked and his smarmy smirk reappeared on his face. "Funny, I thought I was winning." Before Ginny could respond he pulled her in for a quick kiss and grinned.

                "I still hate you," Ginny said, unconvincingly, with a smile.

                "I wouldn't have it any other way," Draco replied haughtily.

**Author's Notes:** Wow, that was a hard chapter to write. But, alack alack, the tale is now completed! Thank you to all of my reviewers, I wouldn't have ever finished this without your enthusiastic support!

Perhaps, one day, there shall be a sequel—after all, there is **The Devil Came Back to Georgia**….

Until then I will be writing a myriad of D/G fiction. I hope you all enjoy it!

Oh…and new, disconcerting news….Apparently Tracey Davis _is_ canonical, at least in name….I don't think J.K.R. would have made her quite as, um, neurotic. 

Feel free to use her in any of your fiction—I would think of it as an honor to contribute to the Fanon!

Everyone look for my next story (D/G): **The Registry**

A tale of lovers, magic, treachery, and admission. Ginny Weasley is drawn into this by the death of a relative she was unaware she had. Will history replay the events that set her family to feud or will she stray from the path so set in magic and the halls of stone?


End file.
